


On Death's Door

by rileighw318



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga), Haikyuu!!, Hunter X Hunter, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Spirits, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood Loss, Character Death, Crying, Depressing, Dorks in Love, Everyone Is Gay, F/M, Falling In Love, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Friendship/Love, Hospitals, Implied Sexual Content, Love Confessions, M/M, Major Character Injury, Memory Loss, Minor Character Death, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Sad Ending, Shakespearean Tragedy, Sorry Not Sorry, Spirit Guides
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 38,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29349276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rileighw318/pseuds/rileighw318
Summary: Bella has been in the hospital for a few weeks now, and things aren't looking too good. One night, a coughing fit sends her into a coma and onto death's door. Her soul awakens to find a strange man in her hospital room. At first, neither seems to want anything to do with the other. But what happens when one spirit guide begins to fall for a human girl?
Relationships: Asuka Ryo | Satan & Fudo Akira, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer/Original Character(s), Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein





	1. On Death's Door

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Welcome to On Death's Door! I started this as a one-shot for my friend (Bella aka the main character) and now I'm 25 chapters and 95 pages in and I can't stop. It's still ongoing but is coming to an end soon. I'll post one chapter each day. Each chapter comes with a Spotify playlist to listen to as you read, which will be linked in the notes for each chapter. Here's Chapter One's playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3jjQLuxttEiivRww2W9NFV Enjoy!  
> :)))

Bella’s eyes fluttered open. The soft beeping sound of the heart monitor was calming yet troubling at the same time. She wiggled her hand out from under the thin hospital blanket and rubbed her eyes. Her hands were cold and boney. The movement caused her hand to ache, sending the slight pain all the way up her thin arms. She looked around her room, eyes still hazy. It was still dark, with the soft glow of the moon just barely illuminating the room. Bella let her eyes wander over to the window coated with a thin layer of frost. She could see the faint silhouette of snow falling just beyond the window. Even though she hadn’t been in the hospital for long, Bella found herself unable to remember how the snow felt as it landed in her palms. 

“...Bella? Are you awake?”A groggy voice called out from the darkness of the room. “Why are you up so early?” Bella shifted her focus away from the window and looked toward the disembodied voice coming from her bedside. She squinted at the chair to her left, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. As her eyes adjusted, she started to make out some of the voice’s features. He had short, fluffy looking hair that wisped out every which way. He wore a light-colored sports jacket - most likely white - with darker accent lines on the shoulders. His long legs were tucked into his chest as he sat perched on the chair. His slim arms wrapped around his legs. He wore glasses, though he had obviously forgotten to take them off before he fell asleep because they rested crookedly on the very tip of his nose. 

Bella groaned slightly before answering, “No...yes.” The voice giggled slightly at her response.  
“You should really be resting, you know. If Iwa~chan were here, he’d be-”

“I’d be what, Oikawa?” Bella quickly shifted her attention to the doorway. Standing in the door was a shorter man with his hands on his hips. He had spiky brown hair and was very muscular. Bella made sure to take her time sizing him up. However, this didn’t go unnoticed because the boy in the chair, Oikawa, spoke up.

“You having fun there, Bell? Get a nice long look at his biceps?” Bella rolled her eyes at his comment, muttering something about Oikawa being a “twink ass bitch” under her breath. Iwaizumi stifled a laugh as a confused Oikawa got up from his chair. 

“What’s so funny? What?! What did she say, Iwa?!” Bella and Iwaizumi looked at each other for a brief second before bursting into laughter. “Fine! Whatever! I’ll just leave then!” Oikawa huffed before stomping toward the door.  
“Aw c'mon Oikawa, we were only jo-” Bella tried to say between laughs, but before she could finish, her lungs started to burn. She started coughing and wheezing, grabbing at her chest and desperately gasping for air. The boys’ smiles quickly morphed into worried frowns as they rushed to either side of her bed. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she looked at the boys panicked. Iwa took her hand in his and held on tightly. The coughing fit continued for a few minutes, as did the tears and the frowns and the hand holding. Nurses were rushed in and the boys were shooed away to wait anxiously just beyond the closed door, forced to hear the muffled coughs and wails. 

After a while, a nurse opened the door just enough to squeeze herself through, then softly closed the door behind her. She could tell by the worried expressions on the boys’ faces that what she was about to say would be met with anger and confusion. Because of this, she hesitated before breaking the news to them.

“She’s stable, but…”

“But what?” Iwaizumi urged rather bluntly.

“But we had to put her on a ventilator for the time being.” She paused for a moment when she saw the boys’ faces drop. “Look between me and you, it doesn’t look good. We estimate she’s only got about a week left. Her lungs are quite weak and they’re only going to get worse. I’m sorry boys.” The taller boy looked defeated, but the other boy was quite the opposite. His eyes were brimming with rage. The nurse made an attempt to scurry away before the boy had a chance to lay into her, but she was too late.

“Are you even trying? Have you stuck up assholes done anything to actually help her? Because by the looks of it, she’s only gotten worse since she’s been here. I mean christ two days ago she had three months and now you’re telling me a week? Bullshit! This is all bullshit!” The boy’s eyes were no longer brimming with anger, instead, tears filled his eyes. “You’re gonna go back in there and fix her.” His voice was softer and he sounded choked up. Slowly, the tears trickled from his eyes. The tall boy pulled the crying boy into a hug and dragged him down the hall and out of sight. The nurse closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

The doctors and nurses slowly trickled out of the room, leaving Bella alone. She took in the silence, allowing the ventilator to aid her breathing. Suddenly, her eyes shot open. Something told her she wasn’t as alone as she thought. She sat up straight and allowed her eyes to dart around the room. What am I doing? No one is here. She tried to grasp at the blanket on her lap, but for some odd reason, she couldn’t feel a thing. She tried again and again and again but every time she failed to feel a thing.  
“That’s not gonna work little lady.” A deep voice called out front the direction of the window. Bella jumped, startled by the unfamiliar figure in her room. “Relax,” the voice reassured her, “I’m not gonna hurt you. My name’s Chrollo,” the voice said calmingly, “and I’m here to guide you.”

Bella furrowed her brows. “Guide me? Guide me where? I’m on a ventilator, there aren’t many places I can go.” Bella laughed a little, bracing for the usual chest pain that followed, but it never came. She looked down at her chest then back to Chrollo, who was smirking. 

“Why don’t you take a look at your pillow darling?” Chrollo said, somewhat condescending, but in that oddly sexual way. Bella slowly craned her neck back toward her pillow. She gasped, seeing herself still lying peacefully in the bed.

“Congratulations sweetheart,” Chrollo began, “you’re on death’s door.”


	2. Chrollo’s Guide to the Afterlife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Y1IxC5VtvGBmTv2bf052w

“I’m sorry, I’m what?” Bella said dumbfounded. 

“You’re on death’s door,” Chrollo stated more plainly this time, still smirking.

“Oh right, of course, why didn’t I think of that. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?” Bella screamed.

“Wow. We’re gonna have to work on that attitude girly.”

“ATTITUDE MY ASS. WHO ARE YOU?”

“Okay, well first off, no need to yell. Secondly, as I stated before, my name is Chrollo and I’m your guide.”

“Great, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, and frankly, I wish you’d go away. In fact-” Bella began screaming for a nurse, for Iwaizumi, for anyone who could hear her.

“Hun, that isn’t going to work. Why don’t you just calm down an-”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN? Alright, you know what if I wasn’t stuck on this ventilator I’d beat your ass Chrome.”

“It’s Chrollo.”

“It’S cHrOlLo,” Bella said mockingly.

“Jesus this is gonna be harder than I thought” Chrollo mumbled to himself. “Alright missy, here’s what’s gonna happen: you are gonna get out of bed. I am gonna lead you to the pearly gates or whatever the fuck you humans call death. You are gonna thank me. I am going to watch you walk away. And then I am gonna go home and never think about you ever again. Cool?”  
“Look man, I don’t know what you’re on, but if you come near me, Iwaizumi will tear you apart. Besides, I don’t even know what you look like so why would I listen to you? You’re probably just a result of my meds.”

“Well then, let’s change that, shall we?” Chrollo said slyly. The sound of his dress shoes against the tiles echoed throughout the room. Bella squinted at the tall figure as he stepped into the light coming through the window. He was tall, at least six foot, with medium length hair, parted down the middle that frayed out towards the ends. He wore a bandage across his forehead for reasons unknown to Bella. He had on a black suit with a tie, blueish-green ball-like earrings, and a few rings on each hand. His skin was paler than hers and his eyes were black, a perfect contrast to her icy blue eyes. “There. Now you’ve seen me. So, the first order of business-”

“No,” Bella said quietly.

“No? No what? You don’t have a choice here princess,” Chrollo said almost laughing. Bella’s hands began to tremble as it dawned on her: I’m really dead. Chrollo whistled as he waved a hand in front of her face, “Hey c'mon now. No time to dilly dally, I have better things to do.”

“No. I can’t.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Chrollo mumbled under his breath. “Look, sweetie, I don’t want to keep telling you this so I’m only gonna say it once more. You. Are. Dying. I. Am. Here. To. Bring. You. To. The. Afterlife. Is that clear?” Bella’s eyes widened. She looked up at Chrollo and smiled. “Oh for fuck’s sake, what now?”

“I’m dying.” Chrollo, for the first time, stopped smiling.

“And that makes you happy?” Bella stood up and smugly danced over to Chrollo.

“You said I’m dying, which means I’m not dead yet. So, it looks like you have to listen to me.” Chrollo paused for a moment, processing everything Bella just said.

“Son of a bitch,” Chrollo said, smiling in disbelief. Bella let out a proud ‘hmph’ as she skipped back to her bed. “You sneaky bitch. Alright, you win. So, what do you want.” Bella pretended to think for a moment.

“Obviously, I don’t wanna die, so just put me back in my body and I’ll be on my way.” Chrollo’s smile faded yet again. “What?” Bella asked, “Sad to see me go?”

“Bella, it doesn’t work like that. I can’t just put you back,” Chrollo said. His flirty attitude had completely dissipated. 

“Of course you can, quit messing around,” Bella said. Chrollo could hear the worry beginning to creep into her voice. He almost felt bad for her, which was odd because he’d met tons of pretty girls before and didn’t think twice about the way they felt.

“Bella, I don’t have that kind of power. No one does. All you have is some extra time,” Chrollo said softly. Why was he changing his tone for her? He’s not supposed to care what she wants.   
“So, what you’re saying is...I’m still gonna die just...later?” Bella’s eyes began to well up. She looked back at her sleeping body on the bed for a few seconds, then sighed. “Chrollo?”

“Yes Bella,” Chrollo answered almost instantly.

“How much time do I have left?” Chrollo thought for a few minutes.

“Your body will be in this state for about a year before they finally pull the plug.” Bella looked away. Chrollo tilted his head to try and see her face. He took a few steps closer to the girl only to find her crying, silently to herself. He could hear her mumbling something along the lines of I’m not ready, not yet, please. Chrollo stood next to her in awe. Why? Why did he care enough to lie?   
“Bella.” Bella wiped her eyes hurriedly and turned to look at Chrollo. “Come here.” Bella furrowed her brow, confused, but slowly got up and walked to Chrollo. He seemed a lot more muscular up close. She looked up at him and met his eyes. Chrollo could feel himself blushing and quickly looked away. Then, he stretched his arms out. Bella looked at him confused.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s a...hug. You humans like hugs right?” Bella started to cry again. “Or not? Did I do something wrong?” Bella stepped closer to Chrollo, wrapping her arms around his waist. 

“No, you didn’t,” Bella whispered into his chest, “Thank you.” Chrollo hesitantly placed his hands around Bella, engulfing her in his arms. For the first time since she met Iwaizumi, Bella felt safe.

“You have one year Bella, how do you want to spend it?” Chrollo lied, he didn’t have the heart to tell her she barely had three months.


	3. Bedside Manners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/23aZKKV33826oNdhv8fHFq

The room, once swallowed in darkness, was beginning to brighten. The sky was turning pink and orange as the sun rose, the soft hues coating the room. The two beings stood tangled in an embrace for hours. Bella had fallen asleep almost instantly, calmed by the surprisingly warm hug. She had never expected this man - or spirit guide? - to be so comforting. Chrollo, for whatever reason, spent the hours panicked. Why couldn’t he bring himself to wake her up? And why did he blush every time he looked at her? Basically, Chrollo hadn’t slept at all. Chrollo didn’t seem to mind though, which worried him slightly. He didn’t feel tired, not even a little bit. Bella stirred a little in her sleep, and Chrollo instinctively tightened his embrace. 

“What am I doing?” Chrollo thought to himself, “Am I going mad?” He glanced down at the girl sleeping in his arms who looked so content. She nuzzled herself deeper into his chest. For the first time in a long time, Chrollo smiled. A real, genuine smile. 

“What are you smiling at?” Bella asked with a soft smile, craning her neck to look up at Chrollo. Chrollo loosened his hug on the girl and stepped back.

“Smiling? I don’t think I was doing that,” Chrollo answered assholeishly.

“Mmm okay…” Bella said mockingly, “I definitely believe you.” She smiled and rubbed her eyes, walking away from Chrollo. “Adorable,” Chrollo thought, but quickly swatted the thought out of his mind. 

“So Mr. Chrollo The Spirit Guide, I have very many questions sir,” Bella said, slurring her speech slightly due to the drowsiness of having just woken up.

“Ask away, little lady.”

“Okay, question one: what happens to me once I actually bite the dust?” Chrollo thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure what to tell her. If he told her the truth, she’d realize he lied to her. “Knock knock, anyone home? Don’t you do this as a career? Why are you thinking so hard?” She giggled. “That’s a new feeling,” Chrollo thought. He didn’t have time to come up with a lie, so he told her the truth.

“Well, it’s basically the same thing that happened when you got diagnosed. The closer you get to your ‘expiration date’ the more severe your symptoms get. For example, it’ll start with a scratchy throat, then move onto a cough, then chest pains, fainting spells, and eventually you’ll become so weak you won’t be able to move on your own,” Chrollo stated rather plainly.

“Oh great, I get to go through the pain of dying twice, how lovely,” Bella groaned sarcastically.

“Well, if at any point it becomes too much, all you have to do is say the world and I’ll guide you to the afterlife.”

“Hm okay then...question two: What's under your bandage?”

“That’s...none of your business.”

“Damn. I thought maybe I was special enough to know,” Bella smirked. Chrollo fumbled his words a bit, looking like the hottest hot mess. “Jesus Chrollo I’m just messing with you.”

“Just ask your next question.” Chrollo said with fake hostility in his voice that made Bella chuckle. “There it is again.” He thought.

“Okay, okay, question three: Are you the only one who can see me?” Bella asked, eagerly awaiting an answer. “Who does she wanna talk to so badly?” Chrollo found himself wondering.

“Yeah pretty much. Every once and a while there’s a freak who can see us but I doubt we’ll see any of them,” Chrollo answered, praying the person she wants to see isn’t one of those weirdos.

“Oh, alright,” Bella said, sounding a little defeated. 

“There someone you wanna talk to?”

“That’s...none of your business,” She said with a soft smile that quickly faded. She thought for a moment before asking her fourth question, “Would it be weird to talk to someone who can’t hear me?” Chrollo was taken aback by her question, but quickly regained his composure.

“I don’t think so.”

“Last question: Am I like a ghost? Can I float? Or walk through walls? Can I possess people? Oooh or maybe-”

“Woah, missy, slow down there. You aren’t a ghost. You’re basically just invisible, but no one can see what you’re interacting with.”

“Dammit.”

“What?”

“I really wanted to make Oikawa piss his tighty whities.” Chrollo bursts out laughing. He doesn’t know why he found it so funny, he doesn’t even know who Oikawa is.

Then, the two not ghosts heard a knock at the door. Both beings turned to see who would walk in. A few seconds of anticipation later, Iwaizumi walks in with Oikawa and another boy following close behind. Chrollo looks over to Bella, but he turns to see her walking towards the muscular boy. He opens his mouth to question her actions but pauses. The girl’s eyes look glossy. She seemed sad but she didn’t look like she would cry, she just seemed deflated. Chrollo watched as she spoke to the boy, softly, smiling every so often. Then, she cupped his cheek with one hand, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Oh..” Chrollo thought, “...I see.” He watched as she walked through the doorway, never looking back. “Well, what are we going to do about this?” Chrollo began to follow in her footsteps, except he decided to look back at Iwaizumi. “It seems like she loves you,” Chrollo said, “And it seems like…” He paused, looking back through the door at Bella, “...I’m quite jealous.”

And with that, Chrollo turned and followed Bella into the hallway.


	4. A Different Type of Ouija Board

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favorite chapters :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4nYLzGg1XuOXqZoQu7Tn3H

Chrollo followed Bella through the hallway until she stopped abruptly. He kept his distance but kept observing. She stood in front of a rather short man, who Chrollo originally mistook for a child. The man was about five foot two and rather skinny, frighteningly so. He wore a black suit like Chrollo, but with no tie and the jacket was unbuttoned. He had short black hair that hung in his face slightly. The man looked angry, and quite tired. Chrollo sensed that whoever this man was, he was dangerous. Every part of him wanted to drag Bella away from this odd human, but she didn’t seem to be afraid of him. Chrollo moved closer so he could hear if the man decided to speak. The closer he got, he realized Bella had been speaking for some time now.

“...and I’m sorry Levi, I know how many friends you’ve lost. I never intended to be one of them. I hope you can forgive me,” Bella spoke from the heart. She closed her eyes and began to take a deep breath as she turned away.

“Bella, what the hell are you talking about, you’re not dead yet. Quit being so selfish,” the man scoffed. Bella whipped her head around, eyes wide and locked on the man. “What? Quit staring at me Swan.”

“You’re a weirdo! Chrollo! Chrollo look! Levi’s a weirdo! He can see me! Look!” Bella hopped up and down, excitedly pointing at the short man. Chrollo was still in shock. “Are you FUCKING kidding me? Of course she’s got a freak, why wouldn’t she. Dammit.” Chrollo quickly got a hold of himself.

“I can see that. So who’s the weirdo?” Levi glared at the tall figure looming over him. He didn’t like meeting new people, especially creeps who looked like that guy. 

“Why are you calling me a weirdo? You’re the one acting like a little brat,” Levi retaliated. He was used to Bella making fun of him, but it wasn’t welcome coming from some asshat in a suit.

“Oh yeah, Levi, follow me,” Bella said hurriedly, “Come on use those little legs!”

“It’s really not that funny Swan, you need better material.”

“Yeah okay sure, hurry up!” Bella ran towards the room she had just made her grand exit out of. She hopped through the threshold and threw her hands out, “Ta-dah!” Levi turned the corner and stepped into the room in a very lackluster way. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Bella’s body lying in the hospital bed. 

“Okay Swan, I don’t get this joke. Explain,” Levi said coldly.

“It’s not a joke, I’m dead...well dying I guess.” Levi rolled his eyes. 

“Uh huh, sure. If you’re dead then why can I do this,” Levi turned and reached out to poke Bella’s arm. His hand went straight through it with little resistance. He tried again and again but the outcome remained the same, he couldn’t touch her. 

“You know, I think Einstein said something about doing the same thing and expecting some other outcome making you insane, Levi.” Levi stopped. He took a small step back and looked up to the girl. He opened his mouth to say something, a serious expression on his face. Though he was always quite serious, Bella could tell he was more tense than usual. But before Levi could get the words out, he was interrupted.

“Levi what are you doing? Who are you talking to?” Iwaizumi questioned.

“Yeah and did you see him poking at the air for like a minute straight? I think he’s lost it,” Oikawa said, hoping to lighten the mood. Iwa and Levi had been tense since Bella had gotten her diagnosis. Levi had always been pretty closed off from the world, but it had worsened since they all found out about Bella. Iwaizumi had completely shut down though. He used to be lively and full of joy, though it was mainly after messing with Oikawa. But now, Iwa just had a blank expression on his face at all times. Oikawa was just as broken as the rest of them, but when Victor wasn’t with them, Oikawa felt obligated to brighten the mood. So far, it wasn't working.

Levi turned back towards Bella. “They really can’t see you?”

“Nope. I even told Iwa about how-” Bella paused, looked at Chrollo for a moment, then leaned closer to Levi and whispered the rest into his ear.

“Really? And he didn’t react at all? Weird, I’m sure something like that would elicit a response.” Chrollo was, for lack of a better term, insanely pissed off. He so desperately wanted, no, needed to know what she had told that boy. And this Levi guy was getting on his nerves too, what with trying to poke at Bella and touch her with his grimy little fingers. He didn’t mind the other two boys though. The one speaking to that Iwaizumi boy didn’t seem so bad, though he was a little flamboyant. The other boy had yet to say anything, though he’d been there for at least half an hour. He sat on the floor in a gray hoodie about a size too big and pajama pants, though the other boys seemed to have dressed a bit nicer. He had spiky hair like Iwaizumi, but it was a little shorter and messier. He had a very calm and uncaring expression on his face, tired even. Though he was hunched over on the floor, Chrollo could tell the boy was at least as tall as the other two, if not taller. He looked kind of familiar to him. Where had he seen him before?

“Yahoo! Levi, who are you talking to? Who didn’t react? Am I the only one lost right now?” Oikawa said. He was clearly the only who cared so much. The boy on the floor spoke.

“Maybe he’s just joking around Oikawa, who cares?” 

“Ah so that’s Oikawa. Makes sense.” Chrollo thought. He still couldn’t pinpoint where he knew the boy on the floor from and that was only pissing him off more. 

“But it’s Levi. When has he ever made a joke? I’m telling you I think this whole thing is getting to him.” Oikawa said. He was determined to get to the bottom of this pointless issue. Chrollo kind of liked him. He could tell the boy was trying to clear the tension in the room. 

“I told you Levi, they can’t see or hear me. Chrollo here says I’m basically dead, but I have like a year in this weird in-between, right Chrollo?” Bella explained to Levi.

“CARS!” Chrollo shouted.

“Dude what?” Bella questioned, laughing a little. Oops, he said that out loud didn’t he?

“Oh sorry, that boy over there looks like that hippie van from Cars. I couldn’t figure out why he was so familiar to me. Anyway, yeah, none of them can see or hear either of us. I’m Chrollo by the way, Bella’s Spirit Guide.” Bella stood triumphantly, giving Levi a look that said “see, told you so.” Then as Levi tried to explain what was going on to the others, Bella shuffled over to Chrollo. “What?”

“Oh okay so we aren’t gonna talk about how Mr. Spirit Guide has seen Cars? Cool, cool, didn’t wanna talk about it anyways.” Chrollo laughed.

“What? It’s a good movie franchise.” Bella gasped.

“Please tell me that means you’ve seen more than one.”

“Well how many are there?”

“There's three.” Chrollo turned his head away from Bella to look straight forward.

“Then I’ve seen all the Cars movies,” Chrollo said with a little smirk on his face.

“That is, and I’m not exaggerating here, the best thing I’ve ever heard. You’re not even human, how, and why, did you watch them?”

“I had to guide this little girl once, but she said she wasn’t ready so I offered to do one thing with her before we left. She wanted to watch Cars one last time. I got a little invested in the story so we watched all three.” Chrollo explained, still averting his gaze from the girl beside him. Bella went silent for a moment, just staring at Chrollo, waiting for him to look at her. After a little while he turned his attention back to her. “What now?”

“Oh nothing that’s just adorable. You’re a big softie.” Bella said, smirking at him.

“I am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“I am not.”

“You are and you should embrace it.”

“Whatever. By the way you never introduced me to these people and I’m guessing we’re gonna be around them a lot. You should probably do that before it gets awkward for me to ask.”

“Oh right, well obviously the malnourished victorian child you met earlier is Levi. Very serious, very scary,” Levi turns and shoots a pointed glare their way, “and he can hear us. Right. Next, the twink in the track suit is Oikawa, the one I was joking about earlier. He’s kind of a bitch but in a fun way. Besides, he’s been really sweet since I was hospitalized. Then, the one you said looked like a car-”

“Actually it was a van but whatever.”

“Oh my god I’m so sorry I offended you. I apologize to not only you but the entire Cars fandom,” Bella mocked, holding a hand over her heart and bowing her head. “Anyway that’s Matsukawa. He and I dated for a few months during our freshman year until we realized we weren’t really dating just smoking together so we cut that off. So yeah! That’s everyone.”

“No, no, no, what about that guy. Spiky hair muscle man, him.”

“Tell me what’s under the bandage.”

“No.”

“Then I’m not telling you about Iwaizumi.”

“So his name’s Iwaizumi.”

“Fuck.” 

“Yeah nice one, little lady.”

“Fine I’ll tell you, but it’s embarrassing, so don’t laugh.” Chrollo felt bad for pushing, but he was selfish and needed to know why Bella liked this boy so much.

“I won’t laugh, I promise.” Chrollo remembered something one of the spirits had taught him years ago. He stuck out his fist and let his pinky finger stick out. Bella reached her hand out and curled her finger around his. Bella took a deep breath before releasing her grasp.

“Ok well Iwa and I met freshman year. They were friends with Matsukawa so naturally we got pretty close. But after Mat and I broke up, I found myself drifting towards Iwaizumi. Hanging out late at night, doing homework over the phone, stuff like that. Then, one night, junior year, the four of us went to this prom after party. Everyone was drinking but Iwa, you know DD type shit. Well some seniors started to get friendly with me, I didn’t mind at first but after a while they started creeping me out. I guess Iwa could tell because he clocked one of the guys in the jaw. And that was all it took for me to fall head over heels. Of course he never knew how much I loved him, I didn’t wanna fuck up our friendship. But now that I’m dying, I figured what's the harm in telling him? So I did. And I thought that would make me feel better about this whole moving on thing but…” She trailed off. Chrollo felt a pit forming in his stomach. “Oh no...don’t say it…”

“I realized what I really wanted…”

“Please stop talking…”

“...was to be with him for however long I have left.”

“Fuck.” Chrollo thought. “But he ca-”  
“Can’t see or hear me, yeah I know. That’s the issue here.”

“Well what about Levi.” “Idiot, why would you say that.”

“Well, I’m not interested in Levi?”

“No, I mean, use Levi as a translator.” “Why am I still talking?”

“But that wouldn’t wo- OH SHIT! Chrollo you god!” Bella said before grabbing Chrollo’s face and planting a kiss on his cheek. “What the fuck did I just do.”


	5. The Midas Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little confusing so if I need to explain more, leave a comment :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1njarrPSnhE0C6UFWgVEda

“LEVIIIII!!!” Bella screamed, though she was only a few feet away from the man. Levi jumped, raising even more questions from the others. “HALLWAY NOW!”

“Jesus,” Levi said under his breath as he walked toward the door.

“Levi, where are you going? What’s going on with you, you’re really starting to freak us out.” Iwaizumi questioned. His voice was calm but it was obviously bugging him. 

“Bathroom.” Levi stated plainly as he continued out the door. Once in the hallway, Levi closed the door behind him to ensure no one would hear him. Bella awaited anxiously to his left, basically vibrating with excitement. “What,” Levi asked rather aggressively. Chrollo didn’t like his tone, not one bit, but he had been the one to put the idea in Bella’s head. 

“Chrollo came up with a great plan,” Bella began. “No need to remind me,” Chrollo thought, annoyed at himself more than anything. Bella continued explaining Chrollo's brilliant plan. Once she had finished, they all awaited Levi’s response. The hallway was quiet for a while, it seemed like hours before Levi had his answer.

“No.” Levi said as brashly as ever.

“N-“ Bella began but was cut off by none other than Chrollo’s big mouth,

“No?! Why? Can’t you see this means a lot to her?” Chrollo demanded, probably a little too eagerly. Levi scowled, taken aback by the sheer audacity of the guide. 

“Because I’m not going to confess your love for Iwaizumi to him, are you insane? They already think I’m losing it,” Levi explained, “Look, I know how hard this is for you, but it's getting late and it just won’t work. Sorry.” Levi turned and twisted the door open. He stood in the doorway for a moment, mumbling to himself, then walked through and closed the door behind him. 

“Well that didn’t go as planned,” Bella said rather quietly. Chrollo hated seeing her this way, but he couldn’t help but be glad she wouldn’t be speaking with Iwaizumi anytime soon. “Chrollo?” Bella asked. Her voice was shaky, like she was holding back tears.

“Yes?” Chrollo answered simply.  
“I need a hug.” Chrollo wasted no time opening his arms for the girl. Bella plopped her head into his chest and let her arms hang at her side. She always seemed to forget just how muscular he actually was. It was probably due to how gentle he was with her, though she didn’t doubt for a second that if push came to shove he could knock a bitch out. Bella giggled at the thought. It was only then she felt the weight of Chrollo's arms around her. “He really is a big softie,” she thought to herself.

“Would you stop calling me that?” “Guess I said that out loud,” Bella thought, for real this time.

“Irt’s a cmplfumenft.” Bella spoke into his chest.

“It’s not, asshole.” Chrollo said, ruffling her hair as he spoke. Bella pulled away quickly. “What’s wrong?” Chrollo asked.

“Nothing, let’s just go back inside.” Bella quickly turned and walked back into the room. She sat cross legged on the end of the bed. Levi made sure to leave a little room in between him and Oikawa so Bella could see everyone. For some reason, she found herself waiting for the door to open, anxiously looking toward the door every so often. It had been a few minutes and she had yet to see Chrollo enter the room. She was about to go check on him when she heard a voice.

“Who're you waiting for?” Chrollo said, leaning over so his head was right next to hers. Bella jumped, which made Levi jump, which made the boys ask more questions. 

“Don’t scare me like that!” Bella yell-whispered.

“What? I followed you in.”

“Well I didn’t hear you behind me.”

“That’s because you were in such a hurry to get away from me.” Bella made a “fuck off” face and Chrollo threw his hands up as if to say “hey, I’m just saying.” Levi began to swat at the two behind his back.

“Okay, okay! We’ll move!” Bella laughed, “A little help, Chrollo?” Chrollo stepped back, placing one hand behind his back and the other outstretched in front of him. He bowed his head, looking like a prince courting some fair maiden. Bella took his hand and gracefully slid herself off the bed. Once she had both feet on the ground, she did a little curtsey. “Thank you, sir.”

“Of course little lady.” Bella turned away, just as quickly as before. Chrollo was starting to wonder if he was offending her. Bella and Chrollo watched the group talk for a while. They discussed school, sports, and, obviously, Bella. One of the boys, Mattsukawa, had said something about how he wished he’d spent more time with her, and all the boys nodded in agreement. Bella smiled fondly at her friends, then looked up at Chrollo, who was watching them intently. Bella jabbed at him with her elbow. Chrollo pulled his eyes away from the friends to face her.

“Hey, I just realized I don’t know you very well.”

“That’s true, you don’t.”

“So...tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Anything.” Chrollo wasn’t quite sure what to say, no one ever really asked about him.

“Um...I don’t know I’m not anything special.”

“Says the invisible spirit guide.” Chrollo chuckled, but he really didn’t have anything to say. He shrugged.

“Well nothing that interesting ever happens. This is the most interesting thing I’ve experienced in like a thousand years.” 

“Remind me again how long ago you watched Cars?” They both laughed, turning back and forth between each other and the group of boys. Iwa and the other boys continued reminiscing. Everyone was chatting and laughing, but Iwa was stoic. After a while, Levi picked up on this fact and asked the boy what was wrong. He explained that he felt that everything was happening so fast and that it felt like she was already gone. The boys went silent, but Bella and Chrollo continued to talk and laugh. Everyone was still, then Levi walked over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

Bella had her head turned to face Chrollo and was speaking adamantly about something, flailing her hands every which way. Chrollo was very interested in whatever the girl was saying, laughing along with her. Levi’s hand was still resting on Iwa’s shoulder. Iwaizumi looked up from the floor and at the man to his right. 

“Thanks Levi, I really a-” Iwa suddenly stopped speaking. Mid-sentence he had turned his gaze to the other boys in front of him. Past Oikawa, Iwa saw two figures just talking and laughing. He stumbled back, tripping and falling. 

“And then I- woah Chrollo what happened to Iwa?” Bella asked. The two of them took a few steps closer. The other boys were surrounding Iwa, who was rambling frantically.

“You- did anyone see that? Guys? C'mon you saw them right?” Iwa was speaking quickly, like something terrible would happen if he didn’t. 

“What? There’s no one else here Iwa…” Mat said looking around. Levi extended his hand out to the boy, hoisting him up. However halfway through Iwa saw them again. 

“There! Look!” The boys all turned, but saw nothing. 

“Chrollo, what’s going on? Is he okay?” Bella asked worriedly, grabbing at Chrollo’s hand.

“I’m...not sure, but is it just me or…” Chrollo said trailing off. It was then that Levi turned back to the boy holding his arm. He looked awestruck, as if he’d just seen a ghost.

“Iwaizumi...who do you see?” Levi asked, slowly as not to startle the boy. The boy was silent, but tears began to well up in his eyes. 

“Or what? Chrollo?” Bella asked.

“You can see them, can’t you?” Levi said, less asking and more so stating a fact.

“What’s he talking about? Chrollo, answer me.” Bella pleaded. Chrollo swallowed hard.

“He can see us, Bella.” Chrollo whispered softly so just she could hear. Bella quickly turned to face Iwaizumi.

“Bella?” Iwa asked, tears streaming down his face.

“Shit,” Chrollo thought, “so this is the touch of death.”


	6. Departure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7lQ4NLXYQCvhObtG2zpbf6

Bella squeezed Chrollo’s hand, she was obviously very overwhelmed. Chrollo squeezed her hand lightly, reassuring her. Neither of them knew what to do, how could they? Chrollo felt her hands beginning to tremble, but she kept staring forward at Iwaizumi. Chrollo was looking at Bella, however. He couldn’t tell if she wanted to run towards Iwa or far, far away from him. 

“Levi, you- you can see her too, right? I’m not crazy am I?” Iwa asked, never looking away from the girl on the other side of the bed.

“Yes, I can.” Levi replied. The others whipped back around to where the other two were looking, but they still couldn’t see the being. “It’s really her, Iwa.” Iwa let go of Levi and tried to run to Bella, but as soon as he let go, he could no longer see the girl. 

“What? Wait why can’t- what’s going on?” The boy buried his head in his hands.

“Ah, I get it. Chrollo,” Levi said, “do I need to be in contact with Iwaizumi for him to see what I can?” Chrollo looked down at Bella, who was now crying. Her grip on his hand tighter than before.

“Yes. It’s called the touch of death or ‘The Midas Touch.’ I’ve never seen it before so I figured it was just a myth but,” Chrollo paused, checking on Bella once again. She was looking up at him now, listening intently. “But clearly I was wrong. It’s an extremely rare occurrence, it’s something that only those who’ve experienced tremendous loss have.” He squeezed her hand again. Chrollo thought for a moment as the girl looked at him. You’re lucky I love you, he thought before letting go of the girl’s hand. 

“Chrollo, what are you doing?” Bella asked. She sounded so scared. Chrollo sighed.

“Levi, touch Iwaizumi’s shoulder please.”

“Chrollo I-”

“Don’t worry,” Chrollo said calmly, looking back at the crying girl, “It’ll be okay.” Chrollo smiled warmly before turning back to the boys. He opened his jacket and pulled a small notebook from inside. 

“Wait-” Chrollo ignored her, he had to. This was the only way she could pass peacefully.

“I should’ve done this when I found out you were a freak, Levi, forgive me.”

“Chrollo.”

“Iwaizumi can’t see me, only Bella. Right now, I doubt he can hear her. By writing both of your names, I can give your power to him. In order for this to work, you must give your consent. By doing so, you will no longer be able to see, hear, or interact with Bella. However, by willingly giving up your power, you will be forced to roam the in-between for an eternity once you die. Do you accept these conditions?”

“Stop, please.”

“And what about you,” Levi asked.

“I don’t know. This technique is outlawed among the guides. If I had to guess, I assume it would result in my immediate death.”

“Chrollo, you can’t-”

“I accept the conditions,” Levi said, never breaking eye contact with the guide.

“Levi, no!” Bella yelled.

“Okay.” Chrollo pulled a pen from his pocket. As he clicked the pen and put it to the paper, he felt resistance on his arm. Huh? Am I getting cold feet? No, it must be- Chrollo turned to see Bella desperately clinging to his arm

“Idiot, idiot, idiot!” Bella screamed at Chrollo, “Stop it! Stop! Please Chrollo don’t do this!” Chrollo was confused. Why wouldn’t she let him do this? 

“Bella, I thought you wanted this?”

“Why would I want this?!”

“You wanted to be with Iwaizumi.”

“Not like this!” Chrollo thought for a moment, then closed the book.

“I understand.” Bella let go of Chrollo’s arm as he walked away. He could hear her feet slapping against the floor as she ran after him. Chrollo was at the end of the hallway by the time she found him. She was yelling, but Chrollo wasn’t listening. She was running towards him, shouting and crying. “Don’t worry little lady, I’m gonna fix it okay?” Chrollo said before disappearing. Bella slumped down in the hallway on the cold tile floor. 

Bella waited in the hallway until dawn, but Chrollo hadn’t returned. Levi came out to check on her every so often, but she only continued to wait. Every night for two weeks, Bella waited at the end of the hallway. One night, as she began to doze off, she heard the familiar sound of dress shoes on tile flooring. Her eyes shot open and she scrambled to her feet. But it wasn’t Chrollo, instead, it was a thinner boy with longer black hair. He dressed in all black.

“Who-” Bella began.

“Akira, Akira Fudo. Pleasure to meet ya,” the man said, “I’ll cut to the chase, you need to come with me. I’m a spirit guide, and I’m here to-”

“To lead me to the afterlife, I know. I already have a guide, thanks.”

“Chrollo, right? Seeing as he’s not here, you don’t have a guide. So, let’s go, I won’t ask again little lady.” Bella felt her hands ball up into fists. Bella’s eyes were full of rage now. She had her mind made up.

“Don’t call me that.”

“What? Little lady?”

“You have no right.”

“Okay, sure, whatever. Let’s get moving, I don’t have all day.” Akira grabbed Bella’s arm and began to drag her further down the hall.

“Let go, dammit!” Bella screamed and kicked, trying to thrash out of Akira’s grasp. No one else was in the hospital, they had all left for the night. Still, Bella kicked and screamed.

“Akira,” a familiar voice called out from the darkness, “I wouldn’t if I were you.” Akira sighed.

“Ah, it’s you.”

“Yeah, so you can let go now.”

“No, I don’t think I will,” Akira said smirking, “I have my orders after all.”

“Fine.” The voice walked slowly over to the skinny guide. He stopped just short of the boy and waited a moment before speaking again. “Last chance.”

“I’m good here.” The scrawny boy took a breath, ready to say more, but he never got the chance. In a split second, the man’s fist met Akira’s jaw and before he knew it, Akira was on the floor. The man stood over Akira, straddling him, and grabbed him by the tie, pulling his head up. 

“You sure you’re good there?” The voice asked with a wicked grin.

“Fine, I’ll leave, for now at least.” And then Akira was gone. The man hurried over to where Bella was. He crouched down in front of the girl and raised his hand to her face. He moved the hair from her face.

“Sorry I took so long, little lady.” Bella jumped up and threw her arms around the man, tears welling up in her eyes. 

“Idiot, Chrollo, you’re an idiot.” Chrollo chuckled as he wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist.

“You’re right. Look, Bella, I’m-”

“Shut up,” Bella said, pulling Chrollo into a deep kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, originally, I was going to wait a lot longer before having them get together, but I wanted them to have more time soooooo yeah


	7. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come back to this chapter after you finish the whole thing it just hits different 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4pD5Uvp3vT0K4zNh2T4JUX

Chrollo tightened his arms around her waist, effectively hoisting her off the ground. The girl melted into his arms, not caring if anyone could see them. The two stood in the hallway, lips interlocked, for a while, but not long enough, not nearly enough. Eventually, the two reluctantly pulled away. Chrollo carefully set Bella down, making sure her feet were on the floor before letting go. They looked at each other for a moment in silence. Chrollo was the one who spoke first.

“Did you really just tell me to shut up?” Bella smiled and rolled her eyes jokingly.

“Great take-away, Chrollo. Really just truly special,” She said as she turned to leave.

“Aw, c’mon now, don’t be like that.” Chrollo called out as Bella continued walking. She threw up her middle finger and kept moving. Chrollo laughed and jogged up behind her. She began to walk faster, but Chrollo grabbed her arm before she could get further away. He pulled her towards him and bent down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m sorry, I’ll be more serious, promise.” Bella smiled.

“Thank you.” They both walked towards the hospital room, hands intertwined. 

“So are we gonna talk about it?” Chrollo asked sincerely.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“Well, when I left you were head over heels for Iwa. We could start there.” Chrollo was worried she wasn’t actually over the other boy. He almost didn’t want to know.

“Levi was right, it wouldn’t have worked. Besides when I saw how far you were willing to go I just…”

“You what?”

“I made up my mind.” Chrollo smiled at the floor. “Softie.” Chrollo just laughed.

“Maybe I am.”

“You are.”  
“Okay, I already agreed, cool it.” They both laughed as they arrived at the door. Bella entered first, checking to see who was inside. Inside the room was one man with short silver hair that hung in his face. The man was muscular, but not huge, more so toned. He wore a fitted gray long sleeve v-neck and black sweats. He had gorgeous blue eyes and was rather pale.

“Oh perfect, it’s just Victor, Levi isn’t here. You can come in, Chrollo.”

“Why would it matter if Levi were here?” Chrollo asked puzzled. Bella cringed, gritting her teeth.

“Yyyyeahhh, he’s not a big fan of yours right now,” Bella winced, smiling awkwardly.

“Was he ever?”

“Point made, but now he actively, how do I say this, he doesn’t hate you but…” Bella thought for a second, pursing her lips, “no hate’s the right word, he hates you.” Chrollo blinked.

“Why?”

“Ummmmmmm…” Bella said, rubbing her neck and turning away from Chrollo, “I might’ve said something…” Chrollo sighed. 

“What did you do?”

“Nothing I just might’ve said something about how I hated you for leaving and that if you ever came back I would...well the details aren’t important, I really don’t even remember, heat of the moment you know,” Bella said swatting her hand in the air. Chrollo stared at her, conflicted between feeling bad and feeling dumbfounded. Chrollo pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tightly. “Okay, look, it’s really not that bad. He can’t even kick your ass though, I mean he literally can’t touch.”

“Oh no you’ve got it backwards. He can’t touch you and I can’t touch him. He can beat the shit out of me easily. Do you know why, Bella.”

“...No.”

“It’s because I made a promise that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

“Oh...well that’s super cute, I mean I really appri-”

“Bella.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve killed me.”

“Okay wait wait, I’ll just explain what happened to him once he gets back.”

“Gets back?”

“Oh yeah, he’s been...looking...for you...on second thought let’s leave.”

“You really are lucky I-” Chrollo slapped a hand over his mouth.

“What? Tell me!” Chrollo shook his head. “TELL.” Chrollo kept shaking his head, faster now. Then the door creaked open. “Oh shit.” Levi wasted no time shooing Victor out of the room. Once the silver haired boy had left, Levi looked at Chrollo with a sinister look on his face.

“Bella, I’m scared.” Levi walked slowly, very slowly, toward the guide. 

“Okay, Levi, let’s not do anything brash. We can talk about this.” Levi refused to look away from the guide.

“I have nothing to discuss with him,” Levi growled. Chrollo was terrified of a 5’2 malnourished child, where had he gone wrong?

“Well, don't you wanna know why he left??” Levi stopped.

“Yes, I do. I suppose if he has a good enough reason I have no need to tear him apart.” Chrollo’s eyes widened. “Speak.” Levi ordered.

“Um okay well,” Chrollo looked at Bella nervously, “I went home to try and strike a deal with another guide.”

“A deal? That’s the best you’ve got? Alright, Swan, move-”

“Wait!” Bella said, moving closer to Chrollo. “A deal?” She whispered, her eyes soft and desperate looking. “What kind of deal?”

“I was...trying to find a guide who could bring you back. After two weeks, they kind of threw me out and reassigned me. That’s when I rushed back, I figured some other guide would be on their way and I didn’t want them to...to take you away for good.” Bella turned and walked to Levi. She started trying to shove him out of the room, though she couldn’t physically touch him.

“Out.” 

“But-” Levi started.

“Now. Out.” Levi and Bella bickered for a few seconds before Levi reluctantly left. Bella ran over to Chrollo, barreling into his gut. She hugged him as tight as she could. Chrollo put one arm around her waist and rested the other on the back of her head. She was talking nonsense into his chest where she had buried her head. He let her talk for a minute, giggling and agreeing with whatever she was saying. Eventually, he ruffled her hair lightly, getting her attention. She looked up at him, resting her chin on his sternum. Chrollo gently moved his hand from behind her head to cup her cheek briefly before moving to her chin. He bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He put his hand on the side of her face and pulled her into his chest. He placed his head on hers.

“I’m sorry for leaving you.” He whispered into the girl’s hair.

“It’s oka-”

“It’s not. I got overwhelmed, what with finding out about Levi and how you felt about Iwa. I got scared. I really didn’t like watching you cry and not being able to help you. And you kept backing away and avoiding me, so I thought you were upset with me.”

“You adorable dummy.”

“Huh?”

“I wasn’t mad at you, I was avoiding you because I didn’t want to admit that I had fallen for a ghost instead of Iwa.”

“I’m not a ghost.” Bella laughed.

“Never change,” she said, lifting her head and removing her arms from his waist and sliding them up around his neck. She stood on her tiptoes and looked at the man. “I need you to promise me something.” Chrollo slid his hands down to her waist.

“Okay, little lady, what is it.”

“No matter how bad it gets, don’t let me move on before my time is up. Promise me you’ll only take me once my time is up.”

“I promise.”

“Good.” Bella slid her hands up his neck to cup his face.

“But you have to make me a promise too.”

“Okay.”

“Protect me from Levi, please. I’m scared of that little weirdo.” Bella giggled, then placed one hand over her forehead.

“Don’t worry, little lady, I’ll protect you,” Bella said, making her voice as deep as she could, which wasn’t very deep, but nevertheless Chrollo found it adorable.

“Unbelievable, is that what you think I sound like? Really? Wow.” Bella continued to giggle. Chrollo smiled, shaking his head back and forth. He pulled her waist closer to him. Bella placed her hand back on his face and leaned in to kiss him. Their warm bodies fit together beautifully. Chrollo’s only thought was how soft her lips were. After a while, Chrollo picked up the girl and took her to the bed. Within minutes the girl was sleeping peacefully on his chest, moving along with the rise and fall of his breaths. Chrollo played with her hair as he drifted off to sleep for the first time in two weeks.


	8. Heaven Above

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter + the next two all go together w/ matching titles
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4X0fRcsYxVBrOrVikvWPyp

Bella yawned, slowly opening her eyes. She blinked a few times to try and clear the morning haziness from her eyes. She shifted onto her stomach, overlapping both hands and placing them on Chrollo’s chest, then she rested her chin on her hands. He shifted in his sleep and put an arm around her waist. He was still sound asleep. Bella watched him for a while. She had never seen someone sleep so peacefully, so she didn’t wake him. Then, a sneaky thought popped into her head, What if I take a little peek under his bandage? She lifted her chin and freed the hand on top. Just a peek. She reached her hand up slowly until she was only a few inches from his face. She held her breath, reaching up and maneuvering a finger just under the bandage. As she began to lift it up, she heard a creak at the door. She whipped her head around quickly, but no one was there. Thank god, I was worried Levi was back for revenge already. She let out the breath she had been holding in.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chrollo asked, grabbing Bella’s wrist gently. Bella jumped, whipping her head back around to face him.

“Nothing.” Bella lied.

“Why are you lying to me when your hand is still holding the end of my bandage?” Bella promptly let go. Chrollo laughed tiredly, releasing her wrist. “What time is it?”

“Uhh, I'm not sure.” Chrollo looked out the window, still rubbing his eyes. It was just starting to get bright, the sun not yet visible. Chrollo figured it was around six a.m. Too early. Chrollo wrapped both arms around Bella and turned to his side, closing his eyes again.

“Can I trust you to behave while I sleep?” Chrollo asked, eyes still closed. He didn’t hear the girl answer. He opened his eyes a bit and looked at the girl in front of him, who had fallen back asleep. He laughed to himself a little before dozing off.

When Chrollo opened his eyes again, the sun had fully risen and the room was bright. Bella was still sleeping, cuddled up to one of his arms. Chrollo turned his head towards the window, but when he turned he found himself two feet away from Levi’s face. Chrollo jumped and gasped “Jesus!” softly. 

“Chrollo. A word?” Levi said ominously.

“Were...you watching us sleep?” A groggy Chrollo asked. He wasn’t too fond of being ambushed as soon as he woke up.

“Yes,” Levi answered with no hesitation, nor did he provide an explanation for his behavior. What the fuck… Chrollo thought.

“...Okay, let’s go.” Chrollo wiggled his arm free and followed Levi down the hallway, through a large door, down the steps, and outside. The men stood in silence, staring at each other. Levi sighed.

“Explain yourself. Why did you leave?”

“As I said, I tried to make a deal with another guide but it clearly didn’t work.” Levi scowled.

“Are you trying to get me to hit you?” Chrollo frowned.

“No.”

“Then tell me the truth.”

“I am.”

“Half-truths don’t count.” Chrollo sighed.

“I made a deal,” Chrollo confessed.

“What was it?”

“It’s not important, just know I’m working on it okay?” Levi sighed.

“Look, Chrollo, whatever you’re planning just...don’t do anything stupid, okay? Not because I care, because I don’t, but Bella does.” Chrollo took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew telling Levi would be a terrible idea, but for some reason he found himself compelled to tell him.

“I know. But I could use your help with something Bella related.” Levi seemed genuinely intrigued. Chrollo explained what he needed Levi to do.

. . .   
Bella paced around the room, fiddling with her fingers. She had woken up to find Chrollo gone. She had been waiting for about half an hour and Chrollo had still not returned. She was just about to let her mind think the worst when she heard the door open.

“Swan, you seem tense,” Levi said. Bella buried her face in her hands. “What?”

“Chrollo’s gone. I don’t know where he went, it’s been like half an hour. Do you think he left again?”

“I’m right here? Jeez girl, how many times do I have to apologize?” Chrollo said walking in right behind Levi.

“Oh…maybe three more times.”

“Okay, I’ll get on that.” Chrollo walked and gave her a kiss. Levi audibly gagged, ruining the moment. “Thanks man.” The three talked for a while, laughing and smiling. Bella noticed Levi checking his watch every so often. Then, at around 4:30, Levi elbowed Chrollo, and he stood up.

“Hey, Bella, why don’t we go on a walk or something?” Chrollo asked, somewhat nervously.

“Okay, let’s go.” The two left the room, Bella in front of Chrollo. Chrollo spun around and flashed two thumbs up at Levi, who returned the gesture. The couple walked hand in hand on the sidewalk.

“So, why are we walking?”

“I figured you were getting bored of the hospital.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” Bella laughed, “but I figured I wasn’t allowed to leave.”

“Well, you just have to stay within a certain distance.”

“Ah okay.” The two continued to talk about trivial topics. Then, Chrollo started to look at the ground.

“What...are you...doing?” 

“Huh? One second…” Chrollo was squinting at the ground, looking for something. “Ah, okay time to go back.”  
“What was that about?”

“What?”

“You staring at the ground all intense like this.” Bella did her best intense face for Chrollo, making him laugh. 

“Oh, I marked how far we could walk from your body.”

“That’s...actually really sweet, is that what you were doing earlier?”

“Mhm,” Chrollo nodded, checking his watch. “Let’s hurry back, c’mon.”

“Race ya!” Bella said, making a mad dash for the hospital. 

“You started early!” Chrollo said, chasing after her.

The couple, now extremely winded, stood at the door. Bella kept insisting that she won, but Chrollo argued it was only because of her head start. Bella laughed, turning the door handle and walking in. She stopped in the doorway and looked back at Chrollo, starstruck. Strings of lights hung from the ceiling, covering the room in a soft, warm glow. A dress hung on the back of the door. It was the one she planned to wear to prom before she got sick. Levi rose from the bed, accepting Chrollo’s thank you and giving a small smile to Bella.

“What is all this for?” 

“Consider it apology number two,” Chrollo smiled at her, “Care to dance?” Bella nodded and Chrollo took her hand in his and led her to an open spot in the room. He spun her around before he placed his hands on her waist as Bella wrapped hers around his neck. The two swayed back and forth to the music. Bella rested her head on his chest, moving her hands down to her head. 

“Chro! Who’s this? She’s...pretty.” A voice spoke from the window. A girl with long legs and red heels stood by the window. She had on a mini skirt and bright red lipstick that complimented her long blonde hair.

“Alisa?”

“Hey, long time no see babe.”


	9. Hell Below

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the dramaaaaa
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7FLHaZPgyifTKPyfwBarUw

Chrollo took one arm and pushed Bella behind his back. Bella clung to Chrollo’s arm, wary of the beautiful being at her window. Did she call him...babe? Bella couldn’t tell if she should be jealous or scared. 

“Awww c’mon Chro, don’t be like that, I just came to talk about some things.” Alisa pouted.

“What.”

“Harsh. Can’t we catch up first? It’s been forever since I last saw you,” Alisa started to make her way to Chrollo, who pushed Bella further behind him. “I mean, we spend two weeks together and then you just leave? That’s no way to treat a lady, Chrollo, and you know it.” Chrollo winced. Aw fuck. Bella let go of his arm. She stepped back and stared. “Oh, sorry sweetie did he not tell you?”

“Bella, can you wait in the hallway for a moment?” Bella laughed in disbelief.

“Gladly.” Bella started to walk out when Chrollo grabbed her arm.

“I’ll explain la-”

“Yeah I’m sure you will.” Bella ripped her arm from Chrollo’s grasp and left. Chrollo started to try and chase after her, but Alisa stopped him. She grabbed his cheek and turned his head to face her.

“Whoops, guess I dropped the ball there.”

“Just do what you came here to do and go.”

“Ugh, fine. Akira sent me to relay a message. He said he’ll be back to pick up his package in two months. I don’t know what that means but I’m guessing you do.”

“Is that all?”

“Nope, I came to talk about our little deal. I finally came up with the perfect compromise. I will give your girlfriend her body back, all healed up, but you will have to watch her die and she will not remember you or the time you spent together. You will not be permitted to make contact in any way. If at any time she asks to move on, you must deny her request, do you accept the terms of this deal?”

That’s a shitty deal, why would he ever accept that? Levi thought. He had been listening in since Bella stormed out.

“I do.” Chrollo, what are you thinking? She’s gonna kill you.

“Wow. You really want this huh? Okay…what we discussed earlier still applies.”

“Anything else?”

“No, I’ll be on my way now. Bye-bye Chro, and sorry for freaking your girlfriend out.” Alisa opened the window and jumped out, disappearing. 

“Who was the hooker?” Levi asked as seriously as ever.

“The guide I made a deal with, she came by to finalize it. I have to find Bella, Alisa made it seem like-”

“Chrollo. Why did you accept that deal? It was shit and you know it, so why?”

“It’s the only way.”

“It's not. If she finds out about this-”

“She won’t. She can’t. I know you think I’m nuts but I have to do this.”

“But it’s only gonna bring you pain so why?”

“Because, I lied, she doesn’t have a year, she has two months.”


	10. Everything In-Between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levi is just my favorite :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5URcVASz3XHGDk03r0H0Mi

“You lied?!” Levi said, shocked, “About something like this? Why?”

“I don’t know, she just seemed so sad to be dying, I panicked.”

“You need to tell her everything, Chrollo, and you can’t take that deal.”

“It’s too late, I’ve already agreed.”

“She’s never going to let you go through with it.”

“Which is why I’m not telling her. I’m doing this for her, Levi, what don’t you get about that? She can come back to you, to Iwa, to everyone she cares about.”

“She cares about you too, dipshit!” Levi marched out of the room, only to return a few seconds later with an angry Bella, “Go on, tell her.”

“Are you just going to stand there?”

“Yes. And so are they.” Chrollo looked to see a group of boys standing in the doorway. Oikawa, Iwa, Mat, Victor, and another man Chrollo had yet to meet. Levi pulled a long string out of his pocket, “Apparently it works if they’re touching the same thing as me, too.” Levi ordered the boys to sit and hold a section of the string, Levi himself wasn’t holding it.

“Is anyone else confused?” Oikawa asked. Iwa leaned over and whispered something in his ear. The boy made a face of realization and nodded to Levi to carry on.

“Everyone ready?” Levi asked. The group looked around, nodding collectively. “Alright everyone, brace yourselves.” Levi grabbed the end of the string and sat down.

“Oh holy hell,” Oikawa said, clasping his hand over mouth, he leaned over and whispered something to Iwa, who gave him a look that read, “What the hell is wrong with you.” 

“Alright, Chrollo, speak.” Chrollo rubbed his head.

“This is ridiculous, you seriously expect us to have this conversation in front of everyone?”  
“I don’t see a problem with it.” Bella spoke up.

“Oh girl, it’s starting,” Oikawa waved his free hand excitedly.

“Fine. Where do you wanna start?” Chrollo asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe with the woman calling you babe.”

“Alisa is the guide I was trying to make a deal with for two weeks, like I already said.”

“And that means she has a right to call you babe?”

“I never said that. Did I ever even seem remotely interested in her? Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know! You won’t tell me anything, how am I supposed to trust you when old friends of yours keep showing up and trying to kill me?” 

“People are trying to kill you?” Victor questioned, “Where have I been?”

“You think I’m just going to let them? Bella, I know you don’t know much about me-”

“Exactly! I don't know anything about you! And everytime I ask you to give me some bullshit answer that just gives me more questions!”

“What do you want to know?”

“Tell me what happened once I left.” Chrollo went silent. 

“You want to know that badly?”

“Yes.”

“She told me Akira would be coming back for you in two months.”

“What else? I know there’s more.”

“She tried to get me to agree to her old deal.”

“Which was what?”

“I give you my life and you come back healthy. Simple as that.” Levi took a deep breath, but Chrollo just stuck his hand up at him. “Quiet Levi, not in the mood.” The anger left Bella’s face.

“And? Did you agree?” 

“No, I thought about it, but someone thought you’d be upset.” Chrollo looked at Levi. Bella thought for a minute. 

“I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.”

“Promise you’ll tell me the things I need to know.”

“Promise.”

“Okay...good.” Bella walked over to Chrollo and punched his arm. “Big idiot.” Chrollo ruffled her hair.

“Why is no one talking about how fine this man is? No one? Victor c’mon help me out.” Oikawa whined.

“I have a husband, Toru...but um...hm, you have a point.” Everyone murmurs in agreement.

“Guys, what the fuck?” Oikawa shrugs.

“Hey, Levi, how do I get to see him all the time like you?” Oikawa winks at Chrollo. Iwa slaps the back of his head. Levi glares at Chrollo knowingly. Chrollo looks back at him seriously, neither budging from their opinions. Slowly, everyone trickled out, leaving only Bella and Chrollo.

“I really am sorry, but there are some things I can’t tell you yet.”

“But you will tell me?”

“I will tell you.” Chrollo bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. The two cuddled and talked for a while before drifting off to sleep. Outside, Levi paced back and forth. Maybe he’s right. Besides if he really can’t back out it’s only going to cause her more pain...but telling her she has a year? What is his plan?


	11. The Trick To Outrunning Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD THIS CHAPTER
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6mLfXbUfUWE3HgxOE326H4

A week had passed since Alisa’s arrival, and it had almost been a full month since Bella “died.” Currently, Bella, Chrollo, Victor, Yuri (Victor’s husband who had just returned from a competition in Thailand), and Levi all sat in a circle. Victor and Yuri sat in the two chairs facing the bed while Chrollo sat on the bed itself. He let his legs hang off the side so Bella could lay her head on his lap, which was what she was currently doing. Levi stood, though there was another chair in the room for him to sit in. They had all offered the chair multiple times, but Levi refused like always. Right now, the group was playing a game of Cards Against Humanity, which ended up being easier than one would think. In the lead was Victor, but Bella and Chrollo trailed close behind. Levi and Yuri weren’t great at the game, but Yuri was having fun. Levi was not (for obvious reasons that I will not explain.) 

“Okay, which one?” Bella raised her head and held up two cards in front of Chrollo’s face. Chrollo read both, chuckling.

“Oh, this is hard.” Chrollo laughed.

“I know, it’s literally impossible.” Bella pulled the cards back down towards her face. Chrollo leaned down next to her to look at the cards again.

“Do that one,” Chrollo said, tapping the card with his nail. Bella nodded and set her “ghost” cards down. She sat up and pointed to a corresponding set of physical cards on the table in front of her. Levi picked up the face-down card and put it in the pile, Yuri did the same for Chrollo. Bella laid her head back in Chrollo’s lap and he began to twirl her hair around his finger. Victor read through the cards and waited for the laughing to die down. 

“Okay, okay. Well, not this one,” Victor began, Levi grunted in disapproval, which meant his card was thrown out first yet again. “And this one is definitely Yuri, so I guess I have my winner…” Bella sat upright, shooting her hand out and pointing at the married couple.

“You can’t play favorites, Victor! Chrollo and I are playing fair which means you two have to!” Chrollo copied Bella’s body, shooting his hand out and pointing at the boys.

“Yeah!” Chrollo agreed. 

“Um, Chrollo has picked your card like three times in a row!” Yuri giggled.  
“Yeah, cus I’m fucking hilarious!”

“Or it’s because he can see your cards…” Levi mumbled. 

“C’mon, Chrollo wouldn’t let me win.” Bella turned her head to look at Chrollo. The man was trying to hide his smile, looking at the wall. He tried to contain his laughter, but seeing the girl’s exaggerated look of betrayal made him lose it.

“It was just so easy!” Chrollo was basically wheezing. Bella picked up a pillow and started to beat the man over and over again. Oikawa and Iwa walked into the room. Oikawa squealed when he saw the string and ran over to grab it. Iwa grabbed Oikawa’s arm, sending the twink flying back. 

“Ow, Iwa! Mean!” Iwa scowled before releasing the boy like a dog on a leash. Oikawa skipped over to the group and grabbed the string. His eyes darted around, searching the room for Chrollo. Chrollo tapped Bella’s shoulder, mouthing “watch this.”

“Behind you, Toru,” Chrollo said, making his voice a little deeper than usual. Oikawa jumped and was pretty sure he felt his ass cheeks clench. Everyone burst out laughing, even Levi. Chrollo looked over to Bella, he loved it when she laughed, but this time, Bella looked concerned. Chrollo leaned over to whisper in Bella’s ear.

“You okay?” Bella turned to face him.

“Yeah, I just scared myself for a second. My throat started to get scratchy, but it must just be from yelling all night.” Chrollo frowned, he seemed to tense up at what she said. Bella smiled and placed a soft, reassuring kiss on his cheek, “I swear, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” The others seemed to notice the serious tone setting and decided to leave. Chrollo grabbed the side of her head and pulled it into his chest, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Chro, it’s okay, I still have like a full year left.” Chrollo went quiet, in all honesty, he had forgotten that she really didn’t have a year. Chrollo groaned and let his muscular body plop onto the bed fully. Bella flopped down beside him. “Why are you so sad?”

“Nothing, you just scared me a little is all.” Chrollo never expected her symptoms to start so soon, he wanted more time. Chrollo felt his nostrils beginning to burn and found it getting progressively harder to breathe. His cheeks were on fire. Was he...crying? Chrollo raised a hand and placed it over his eyes. Bella seemed to notice and grabbed his arm.

“Chro?” He didn’t answer. Instead, he started laughing. It was that sad, almost manic laughter, soft and defeated. Bella sat up, prying at the hand over his eyes. “Babe?” Chrollo sniffled and pinched the bridge of his nose. The man took a breath and sat up, sitting a few feet away from the girl.

“Fuck.” Chrollo laughed, throwing his head back. Bella took his face in her hands and brought his head down.

“Chrollo, please. I’m getting really worried about you, this isn’t like you. You’re acting strange, please tell me what’s going o-”

“I love you.”


	12. Goodbye to a World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1pisj2m2yUIKcNw4BlvgsW

“Huh?” Bella stared blankly at the crying man. 

“I love you,” Chrollo took the girl's hands off his face and into his own hands, “sorry.”

“...sorry?” Bella squeaked out. She had a pit in her stomach, eating away at her. Chrollo bit at his thumbnail, tears streamed down his face, and fell to the floor. Chrollo let go of Bella’s hands. With every passing second, Bella could feel her heart getting tighter. 

“I said yes.” Bella felt her stomach turn. Her throat closed and her lungs burned. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. She felt as if she’d break, shattering into a million pieces. It was like she was dying all over again. 

“...why? Why are you…” She couldn’t seem to wrap her brain around what was happening. Her head throbbed and her vision started to blur. She couldn’t tell if it was because she was fighting back tears or she might faint. 

“You are…” Chrollo looked away, he felt pathetic crying in front of her, “...you have no idea how much you mean to everyone.” Chrollo spoke quietly, choking back every emotion. “And you mean more to me than you could ever know…” Chrollo tried his best to stop the tears streaming down his face. “But you deserve better than me,” Bella wanted to scream, cry, anything to tell him just how wrong he was, “You deserve someone who doesn’t lie to you, someone who you can truly be with, someone else, someone better.” Bella wanted to hit Chrollo, to hurt him so bad he couldn’t move. So bad he could never leave her again.

“That’s not true...” Bella mumbled, breathing fast and softly. She prayed he would stop talking, prayed he’d close his pretty mouth and just shut up. Every word out of his mouth felt like another dagger puncturing her heart. “...stop it…”

“You don’t...you don’t have a year, you have two months. That scratchy throat you had really was the start of your symptoms.” Chrollo’s chest was tight. He hated everything he was saying, everything he was doing. He couldn’t stop his mouth from moving, couldn’t stop his eyes from crying, couldn’t stop his hands from shaking. “You deserve more time. More than two months or a year,” Chrollo turned towards the girl, finally letting all his emotions out, “You deserve a lifetime that I can’t give you.” 

“Chro please…”

“You won’t need me in two months when you wake up. You’ll get your old life back, the life you deserve.” Now, Bella was the one letting her emotions get the best of her. She pounded on Chrollo’s chest, silently crying. “I should’ve taken you when we first met.” Bella stopped and stared at him.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do.” Bella started punching him, hard this time.

“You don’t mean that! You don’t get to walk into my life and tell me you love me just to say shit like that! You don’t get to make me love you and leave me again!” Bella cried, hitting the man, “I don’t care! Nothing you say is going to change the way I feel about you! So shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Bella collapsed into Chrollo’s arm. “Why can’t you see that I want you and no one else?” She whispered. Bella waited, hoping he would hold her and never let go. After a minute or two, Chrollo held her in his arms.

“I don’t want to hurt you…’ Chrollo sobbed, “I never wanted to hurt you like this.” Bella heard a creak at the door like someone had been listening in to their conversation, but she didn’t want Chrollo to notice the figure. She didn’t look back at the door, instead, she looked into Chrollo’s crying eyes. Chrollo sniffled and smiled sadly, tears still falling from his eyes, “You could have someone so much better, I’m nothing special.” Bella let Chrollo’s body fall into her arms. She kissed his forehead lightly and rested her head on his.

“I don’t want better, I want you, Chro.” Bella sniffled. Chrollo quickly fell asleep in the girl’s arms, lulled by the sound of her beating heart. Bella slowly shimmied out of his grasp and made her way to the door.

“Well, you two sure know how to put on a show,” Akira said laughing awkwardly. He clearly was not expecting to see or hear that, nor did he feel comfortable doing so. Bella was unamused.

“If you’re here to take me, I’m not going.”

“Had to try, but don’t worry, in two months you won’t have much of a choice.” Bella had never felt so much rage in her entire life. She was completely ready to kill this guide when an idea crossed her mind.

“Can we make a deal?” Akira stepped back, shocked.   
“What kind?”

“The kind that makes Chrollo human once I die here in the in-between.” Akira’s eyes widened. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking.

“I can do that, or I know someone who can, but provisions must be set.” Bella nodded, she was prepared to do anything. “Okay, how about this: Chrollo must spend 1 year in the in-between before he can be made into a real boy. Also, I must be the one to take you to the afterlife, not Chrollo. He may not accompany me in any way, shape, or form. Do you accept these conditions?”

Bella answered without hesitation, “I do.” Akira was impressed by the girl’s dedication.

“Now I get why Chrollo likes you so much.” Bella walked back to the room, stopping just in front of the sleeping man.

“You’re wrong, he doesn’t like me,” Bella looked at Chrollo. His eyes were puffy and his nose was red. She placed a hand on his cheek and wiped away a small tear, “He loves me, just as much as I love him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no self-control and cannot stop with sad and angst, I apologize...for now...


	13. 53 Days in Purgatory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the 53 is actually a reference to the time Bella has left, and yes I did the math. 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6U6ZWWz1vIQNQHQYxpBAqb

Bella crawled back into the bed and wiggled her way under Chrollo’s muscular arm. She caressed his cheek and kissed the tip of his nose, “I will need you when I wake up, I always will.” Bella whispered, kissing his nose once more. She nuzzled her head into chest and curled up next to him. Chrollo stirred, scrunching his nose like a rabbit. He opened his eyes, just barely. 

“Was someone at the door?” Chrollo mumbled drowsily, slurring his speech quite a bit.

“Don’t worry,” Bella whispered, “It was just Levi checking in.” Chrollo groaned out something that almost sounded like an “okay” and promptly fell back asleep. Bella closed her eyes, trying to focus on the sound of her boyfriend’s breathing, but she couldn’t seem to fall asleep. She couldn’t get the image of Chrollo’s crying eyes out of her mind. She wanted to hate him for making a deal so dumb, but she couldn’t. He genuinely loved her. In the end, she understood why he did it, hell she just did the same thing. She opened her eyes again. Chrollo’s face was just a few inches away. She admired everything about his face. The way his nose perked up, his pointed chin and chiseled jaw, the way his lips parted. Chrollo stirred again, scratching at his forehead this time. His itching must have loosened his bandages because they began to slump down his forehead. Bella saw the beginnings of some type of marking, but something came over her. Bella quickly covered her eyes with her hand and shook Chrollo awake. Chrollo pried his eyes open, immediately confused by the girl covering her eyes in front of him. 

“Are you alright?” Bella nodded.

“Your bandages fell off, I didn’t want to look.” Chrollo smiled as he rewrapped his bandages.

“I’m shocked, you’ve been bugging me about it for weeks.” Bella giggled.

“I’m just as shocked as you, I’m not sure why I didn’t sneak a peek.” Chrollo took her hand off her eyes.

“Thank you.” He pulled the girl closer and kissed her, long and meaningfully. Neither of them wanted to be the one to pull away. So neither did. The two kissed for an eternity, warmed by each other's embrace. Eventually, the two pulled away, dozing off wrapped in each other’s arms.

. . .

The morning sunlight shone through the window, waking the couple. Chrollo placed a sleepy kiss on Bella’s nose, who returned the favor. The girl snuggled closer. 

“What do you want to do today?” Chrollo asked, kissing her forehead a few times.

“I don’t feel like talking to anyone today. Can we just watch a movie or something?” Bella groaned. Chrollo twirled her hair between his fingers.

“Okay, what were you thinking?”

“What have you seen?”

“Cars.”

“Yeah, I know, but what else?” Chrollo stared at her.

“That’s it, babe.” Bella’s jaw dropped.

“Ok that settles it, movie marathon now.” Chrollo laughed and agreed. The two watched all of Bella’s favorites. At one point, during Howl’s Moving Castle, Levi walked in. The couple screamed and shooed the short man away, leaving him dumbfounded. By the time the two had gotten to their last movie, it was already dark out. Bella laid in Chrollo’s lap, his hands draped over her shoulders. Bella tilted her head back to look at Chrollo.

“Okay this one is sad. Like really really sad. Prepare yourself.” Chrollo kissed her and agreed. Bella pressed play on The Fault in Our Stars. It didn’t take long for Bella to start crying, and once the tears started they never seemed to stop. Chrollo pulled the girl closer and placed comorting kisses on her forehead every so often. Chrollo started crying during the last few minutes of the movie, though he adamantly denied it. Once the credits rolled and Bella had stopped sobbing into Chrollo's suit jacket, Chrollo stood up and held out a hand for Bella.

“We never did get to finish our dance.” Bella beamed and took his hand.

“I’m in sweats, you know.” Chrollo led her into the middle of the room.

“You look cute.” Chrollo spun her around, then took her hand and grabbed her waist. The two danced for an hour or so. In all honesty, they lost track of time. Bella glanced over Chrollo’s shoulder, looking out the window. She saw the little white flakes sprinkling down from the heavens and smiled.

“Chrollo.” She spoke softly.

“Bella.” He answered.

“Let’s play in the snow.” Chrollo smiled and took the girl’s hand in his. The two hurried outside, hand in hand. When Bella saw the ground covered in a coat of fluffy white snow, she basically dove in head first, dragging Chrollo with her. The two rolled around in the snow. At some point, when his back was turned, Bella lobbed a snowball at the back of Chrollo’s head.

“Oh you’re gonna regret that.” Chrollo smirked evilly. They ran around, chucking snowballs at each other. Some were a bit aggressive, mainly as revenge for the first surprise attack. Chrollo made the mistake of taking his eyes off his girlfriend for a moment to make more snowballs. Bella snuck up behind him and threw herself onto him, trying to tackle the giant man. Chrollo lost his balance, tetaring backwards. Bella flopped onto the cold, hard ground and Chrollo was soon to follow, though he was able to catch himself before crushing Bella. The two laughed before Bella pulled Chrollo down by his tie to meet her lips. Giggling and smiling in between kisses, the couple laid in the snow. From the room above, Levi looked down upon the smiling couple. He found himself smiling. It was at that moment he knew that no matter what happened, “Those two will be fine.” Levi smiled and left the room.

Bella and Chrollo stifled giggles as they walked back to the room covered in snow. Chrollo grabbed a towel off the wall and dried Bella’s hair, ruffling it softly so as not to tangle it. He wrapped the towel around her shoulders and kissed her pink nose. She dusted the rogue snow off his jacket. He bent his head down and let the girl dry it for him. She smiled and kissed his nose, wobbling on her tiptoes. Chrollo stared longingly at the girl standing before him. He bit his lip, smirking, and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

“God you’re beautiful.” Chrollo said before kissing her passionately, walking towards the bed. They stopped, giving each other a reassuring look. The two were about to resume when Levi walked in.

“Hey lovebirds, I hope I’m interrupting because I don’t want to hear about this later.” The two sighed and Chrollo sat the girl down. “That’s all, hope I killed the mood.” Levi turned and left as quickly as he arrived. The couple watched Levi leave, staring dagger at the man. They looked at each other and laughed before climbing into bed and falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms yet again.


	14. Double Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MMMMMMM THIS ONE IS GOOOOD
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7HgIuOOHuXftitbOsDvSN7

A few days had passed since the couple’s snow date, and already they were waking up to panicked whispers coming from the doorway. There were three voices, a whiny voice, a deep and airy voice, and a stern voice that often criticized the whiny one. Chrollo poked Bella’s ribs from underneath the blanket. She scooted closer, placing her ear close to his mouth.

“It’s Oikawa and Iwa. They’ve been like that for half an hour.” Chrollo whispered, trying not to alert the boys.

“What do you think they’re arguing about?” Bella whispered back.

“Don’t know, I just keep hearing stuff like ‘You go first’ or ‘Shh just do it’ stuff like that.”

“Are we that scary?” Bella whisper-giggled. Chrollo shushed her playfully. 

“How long have you two been up?” Levi asked. He was clearly annoyed with the two boys bickering. “See? I told you two to shut the fuck up. Anyway hurry up and do whatever the hell it is, I’m getting real tired of this shit.” Levi took his end of the string out into the hallway and closed the door. Chrollo got up and walked around to the other side of the bed, helping Bella get up. The two boys shoved and slapped each other, trying to get the other to go first. Unfortunately, Oikawa never stood a chance. Iwa shoved the twink forward, sending him flying into Chrollo’s chest. On second thought, maybe he didn’t mind going first. Oikawa let out a little squeal, Bella was right, he was more muscular than Iwa. Chrollo pried the flaming homosexual off of him.

“Hi, Toru,” Chrollo said, patting his head. Oikawa ate that shit up. 

“Alright Shittykawa, just say what we came to say,” Iwa ordered, clearly annoyed with Oikawa, and maybe a bit jealous.

“I’m just here for emotional support! It’s your issue!” Oikawa whined. Iwa sighed and stepped forward.

“Bella? So, I know you and Chrollo are a couple now, but um…” Iwa scratched his head, trying to avoid Chrollo’s death stare, “I know you used to have this crush on me and I just wanted to let you know that Oikawa and I are together, we have been for like a year now.” Chrollo stifled a laugh and Bella elbowed him hard in the ribs.  
Chrollo leaned over, his ribs still sore, “Of course you fell for a gay guy.”

“I’ll kill you,” Bella growled.

“Love you, too, babe,” Chrollo said, trying to kiss her cheek as she avoided him.

“It’s okay, Iwa. I hope Oikawa hasn’t been too much of a handful.” The two hugged and Oikawa hugged Chrollo lovingly, nuzzling into his chest. Chrollo patted his back awkwardly. Oikawa pulled away and excitedly clapped his hands.

“Can we do a double date? Please, it’d be so fun!” The group murmured in agreement when a pissed off Levi barged in.

“NO! NO DOUBLE DATE! I AM NOT FIFTH WHEELING A GODDAMN DOUBLE DATE,” Levi marched up to Chrollo, “DO THE THING NOW.” Chrollo was absolutely terrified.

“What thing?” Chrollo said, slowly backing away from the man.

“THE THING THAT GIVES THIS SHIT TO OTHER PEOPLE.” Levi waved his hands around himself.

“Um, I don’t know, Levi..” Levi grabbed Chrollo’s tie and pulled his face down.

“I AM NOT ASKING.” 

“Levi, cool it you’re overreacting.” Bella said cooly, “We’ll find another way, don’t worry, you can go.” Levi huffed.

“No, I’ll stay.” Levi let go of Chrollo’s tie and apologized, “Besides, I know you guys don’t have very long.” Oikawa and Iwa shared a confused look.

“What? They still have a year, right?” Iwaizumi questioned. The three looked at eachother then back at the boys. They explained what had happened in the past few weeks, leaving out a few depressing details that the others didn’t know. They all discussed the situation, then decided to go out for lunch, though “Brollo” couldn’t physically eat anything. The couples plus Levi went to a cafe not too far away. They chatted about Iwaoi and Brollo. Levi went very silent at the mention of ex-lovers. 

“Everything okay Levi?” Bella asked, noticing the man’s silence. 

“Yes,” Levi responded blankly, taking in a long deep breath. He held it in his chest for a minute, then released it all at once. “It’s just...there was this...guy, Erwin. He died a few years after we met. He was killed in a hit and run a long time ago.” The group went quiet. “Well, you guys asked.”

“Erwin Smith?” Chrollo asked, “Blonde, tall, natural leader?” Levi’s eyes went wide, his heart raced and his throat closed. “I remember him, he was one of Akira’s. He said Erwin’s last wish was to see you one last time, but when he actually saw you he tried to kill Akira.” Levi sat quietly for a moment, eyes wide, then his expression softened and he smiled. 

“Sounds about right,” Levi rose from the table, “Let’s go.”

“But my food-” Oikawa started before Iwa shushed him. The group went back to the hospital room, Levi and Chrollo stayed back in the hallway. 

“Thank you for earlier, Chrollo. I really did need that.”

“I just told you what I knew, nothing more. But I do have a pretty big favor to ask of you.”

“Alright, what is it?”

“Once she comes back, I can’t visit her. So can you please keep me updated? Just once every few weeks is all I’m asking.”

“Of course.” Chrollo was taken aback by Levi’s willingness. Chrollo thanked him and turned to leave.

“Wait, Chrollo.” Chrollo turned back around.

“Yes?” He saw the desperation in Levi’s eyes. The man looked like he hated himself for asking. And he did. Levi knew that in two months Chrollo would never be able to see Bella again, and he felt so selfish asking.

“Is there any way for me to see Erwin again?” Chrollo thought long and hard.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Chrollo smiled and left once again. Levi broke down in the hallway, dropping to his knees. He sobbed into his hands, quietly calling out to Erwin. Levi felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked up through teary eyes. Chrollo was crouched down next to him.  
“I know what you’re feeling Levi, don’t worry, I won’t tell the others. I know what it’s like to love someone you can’t be with.” Chrollo continued to comfort the crying man until he was ready to see the others. The group chatted until the sun began to set, then they slowly dispersed. Chrollo and Bella laid in the bed, staring at the ceiling in silence.

“So that stuff with Levi was pretty wack, right?” Bella whispered. Chrollo turned his head to look at her.

“Yeah, that was...a lot. He seemed really upset though,” Chrollo told her.

“I never knew. I mean we’ve known each other for so long, I feel awful for not knowing. I hate that he had to go through that alone.” Chrollo wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. 

“He’s gonna be fine, I swear.”

“What’re you planning?” Bella poked at Chrollo playfully.

“Nothing, it’s actually kind of a dangerous plan, I won’t tell you what it is or why because you’ll just worry.”

“Well, now I’m worried because I don’t know.” Chrollo laughed.

“It's not that dangerous…”

“Liar.”

“It’s not! I’ve done it before.”

“Really? How many times?”

“...once. And I fucked it up.”

“Exactly. Dumbass.” Chrollo and Bella talked for a while longer about trivial things before falling fast asleep. Chrollo spent the passing hours figuring out how he would bring Erwin back for Levi, he owed him that much. Chrollo couldn’t ask Akira, that just wouldn’t end well. Probably unwise to ask Alisa or any other guide. Oh well, last resort it is.


	15. A Last Resort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one of my favs, I wrote this one in chem :P
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XS0oyqoi6eIIFE2Bx5x44

Chrollo debated waking his girlfriend. They were joking about it earlier, but he knew how worried it would make Bella. Then again, he didn’t want her waiting anxiously for his return if he left without telling her. He decided that the lesser of two evils was to wake the girl. He felt bad, she looked so peaceful, but he knew if she woke up and he had disappeared he would feel worse. Chrollo was standing next to the bed, leaning over to wake the sleeping girl. He took a deep breath and lightly shook the girl awake. Bella groaned and squinted at Chrollo, he looked...different.

“What’re you doing, Chro?” Bella whispered.

“I told you, I’ve got a plan for Levi.” Bella was wide awake now.

“I thought you were just messing around. Are you really leaving?” Chrollo patted Bella’s head. He giggled.

“Relax, babe. I know what I’m doing. Besides I won’t be gone long, just a day or two.” Bella sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I promise I’ll come back super fast.” 

“Okay...just be careful please.” Chrollo gave her a quick peck. 

“Thank you. Oh, and don’t tell Levi what I’m doing, I don’t want him disappointed if I fail. Just tell him I had another guide job to handle and I didn’t know how long it’d take.” Bella nodded sleepily. Chrollo gave her one last kiss before disappearing into the night. Bella sprawled out, taking up the spot where Chrollo normally laid next to her. She felt something strange underneath her and dug around, trying to find it. Her eyes went wide when she realized what it was. Chrollo had taken off his bandages.

. . .

Chrollo wandered through his dark hometown. It was barren, dusty, and smelled of burnt embers. It had been so long since he had removed his bandage, he felt almost free. The bandages had been covering a small mark on his forehead. It was black, an engraved cross-like symbol with four arrows and a circle that connected them. He rubbed at the mark, wondering if he would still be able to get it to work again. Chrollo stopped wandering through the barren wasteland, there was no one for miles. 

“This’ll do,” Chrollo said to no one. He cracked his neck and wrists, stretched out his shoulders, and took a long deep breath. “Please let this work…” Chrollo closed his eyes, focusing on the silence around him. He folded his hands together and breathed out. Slowly, two glowing blue beasts began to materialize on either side of him. The two beings appeared fish like swimming around in the air, circling Chrollo. He smiled when he felt one of their tails brush his cheek.

“I’ve missed you two,” Chrollo said, opening his eyes. He scratched under their chins, “Let’s get right to work, girls. I need you to locate the soul of Erwin Smith, got it?” One of the beasts took off toward the left, the other waited for Chrollo’s instructions. “Kiyo, you need to make sure Akira and Alisa don’t sense my presence here, can you do that?” The beast gave a sort of nod before glowing brightly, enveloping Chrollo in a strange light. He smiled proudly. Still got it, he thought, patting Kiyo’s head. The other beast floated gracefully back to Chrollo after a few minutes, empty-handed. Chrollo pondered for another moment before giving more orders.

“It’s alright, Kohi, we’ll try again. How about this time I’ll give you a better image to search with. One moment.” Chrollo closed his eyes again. This time, he thought of Levi, trying to tap into the man’s memory of Erwin. It took him quite a while, Levi was a very complex being, and being so far away didn’t help, but Chrollo was able to find a clear memory of Erwin in Levi’s subconscious. It seemed to be the memory of how they met. Chrollo whistled, calling Kohi to his side. He softly placed his hand atop the being's head. A few seconds later, the creature took off toward the right this time, quite quickly. About ten minutes later, Kohi returned, placing a small yellow orb in Chrollo’s hand. “Good boy, Kohi, very good.” Chrollo rubbed the beast’s head lovingly. 

He took the orb in both hands and carefully placed it on the dead ground, whispering some sort of chant. The orb glowed, splitting into two halves. A tall, blond male emerged. He was strong with an unwavering sense of pride and leadership. He had thick dirty blond brows and frosty blue eyes. The man opened his eyes slowly, blinking confusedly. 

“Where...where am I?” The man managed to spit out. He wasn’t scared, just completely confused. 

“Erwin Smith? I have something to discuss with you.” Chrollo said, ignoring the man’s question. Erwin gave a nod to continue. “Do you remember a man, someone by the name of Levi Ackermann?” Erwin’s eyes widened.

“Yes, what about him? Is he okay? He’s not dead too right?” 

“He’s okay, still kicking. I came as a sort of favor for him.”

“Can I see him again?” Chrollo chuckled.

“I was hoping you’d ask. I’m not supposed to do this, but yes, you can spend one full day with him. 24 hours.” Erwin seemed to look hopeful, yet disappointed. “I know it’s not much, but for now it’s the best I can do.” Erwin smiled warmly.

“Thank you…,”

“Chrollo.”

“Thank you, Chrollo.” Chrollo smiled. They discussed how they would leave the wasteland, it was tricky getting those who had passed on back to the overworld. It would take all of Chrollo’s strength and focus, but it was possible. The two mounted Kiyo and Kohi, which meant Chrollo’s presence would be detected quickly, so they had to move fast. If Chrollo’s presence was sensed down here, all the vultures would circle Bella above. Chrollo mumbled something as they “swam” because Chrollo couldn’t teleport back with a live soul. His eyes were closed and had completely blocked out all other distractions. After a few minutes of pure concentration, a small portal opened up before them. Chrollo never broke focus, never opened his eyes, never stopped mumbling. They flew through the portal, which led right outside the hospital. Chrollo closed the portal and recalled Kiyo and Kohi. Erwin shot Chrollo a nervous look. It took the guide a moment to realize why.

“Don’t worry, Levi’s just here to visit a friend. Stay close behind me, but don’t walk in with me, okay?” Erwin nodded, squinting at the bright sun he hadn’t seen in ages. The two men walked into the building and up the stairs to Bella’s room. Chrollo stopped just outside the door, signaling Erwin to stay back. 

“Bella, I’m back!” Chrollo called from outside the room, “I think you have something I need? Kinda left them with you for safekeeping?” Bella beamed at the sound of her boyfriend’s voice. She hopped up and grabbed the bandages from the nightstand, hurrying over to the door. 

“Do I get to see yet?” Chrollo smiled, God, did I miss you he thought to himself.

“Never.” Bella handed the bandages through the slit in the door and laughed.

“Thought so.” Chrollo wrapped his bandages around his forehead, effectively hiding his mark and sealing his powers. He walked through the door and promptly gave Bella a hug and a long kiss. Levi coughed from the bed, a signal that he was annoyed by their “lovey-dovey bullshit” as Levi said. 

“I wouldn’t be so rude if I were you,” Chrollo said, pulling away from Bella, “I can always take him back.” Levi stood quickly, eyes wide and eyeing the door. “You can come in now,” Chrollo said loudly. Erwin stepped through the door.

“Hello, Levi.” He said softly. Levi’s eyes were well past teary. His eyes were soaked with tears as he walked quickly towards the giant blond. 

“Erwin.” He said desperately. Erwin engulfed the crying man in his arms. “I missed you so much.” Levi sobbed into his chest. Bella and Chrollo gave a knowing look at each other and turned to leave. Levi stopped them. “Wait, Chrollo. Thank you.” Chrollo smiled warmly.

“I owed you this much. Please, enjoy yourselves while you can, we won’t get in your way.” The two turned and left, smiling proudly at the reunion of Levi and Erwin.


	16. Dreams Resurrected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAH and thats all i have to say...
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/78efHeQJzut1snYbigAzck

Erwin and Levi slowly separated from their embrace. Erwin raised a hand to Levi’s cheek and carefully brushed away a tear. Levi scoffed, upset with his emotions. Erwin laughed, he was the same as always. Once Levi contained himself and his emotions, the two finally spoke.

“How long can you stay?” Levi asked sternly. His tone was serious and calm, but there was a little shakiness to it.

“24 hours.” Levi frowned. Erwin took his hands, “For now, at least. That’s what, um, Chrollo was it? That’s what he said, for now.” Now Levi was just confused. He never knew what that big idiot had planned and he hated that. In all honesty, it terrified him to be left in the dark. He forced himself to look past it so he could spend as much time with Erwin as possible. Levi could touch Erwin, but he wasn’t “real.” He was a ghost, or a soul, spirit, anomaly, whatever, Levi was the only one who could see him. 

“What should we do?” Levi asked, praying to whoever that he would have something in mind.

“We could grab some tea, come back, and catch up?” Levi smiled, trying to hide it, but Erwin saw right through him, he always did. “Okay, then. Let’s go.” Levi started to get his coat, then paused, remembering Bella’s rules. He furrowed his brow, thinking. 

“Let’s not go too far, okay?” Erwin nodded and the two made their way outside. They walked to a cute little cafe a few blocks away. There was a better one a little further down, but Levi did not want to risk it. Levi ordered black tea for himself and green tea for Erwin. He didn’t know if Erwin would actually be able to enjoy it with him, but he grabbed both cups anyway and they made their way back to the hospital. Turns out Erwin could drink the tea, sort of. It was still physically on the end table, but Erwin had one in his hand. Levi decided not to question the principle of it (and neither should you). 

“Levi, how long has it been? Time moves differently down there.” Down there? Levi thought.

“Five years, give or take.” Erwin let out a small hmph.

“I thought it had been shorter. Guess time moves slower than I thought down there.” What the hell is “down there?” Levi scowled unknowingly. “Oh, Levi, calm down. I’m not being tortured in the fiery pits of hell, have faith in me.” Levi chuckled, immediately regretting it. “You don’t have to be so serious around me Levi, I mean, Christ we were engaged.” Levi smiled. He still wore the ring, just on a different finger so no one asked any questions. The word “were” hit like a ton of bricks. He really missed him. 

“I know that…”

“Do you? Because that ring is on the wrong finger.” Levi covered his hand. Erwin laughed, reaching his hand out and placing it on Levi’s. “Look, I still wear mine too.” Levi looked down at Erwin’s hand. Sure enough, a shiny silver ring gleamed on his finger. Levi rested his head on Erwin’s broad shoulder. Erwin held the side of his head, stroking his hair softly. 

“24 hours isn’t long enough,” Levi mumbled angrily.

“Damn right. I mean, that guy seemed really powerful, too.” Levi raised his head excitedly, he would finally have someone to shit-talk Chrollo with.

“Right?! But nOoOo, that type of power is saved for his special “little lady,” Levi said, promptly gagging. Erwin chuckled.

“Is he dating one of those fish or something?” Levi raised his eyebrows.

“Fish? He has fish?”

“Yeah. These two big bluefish. They like, glow and swim around him.” Levi burst out laughing.

“Fish?! Fucking fish!?!?” Both men were practically wheezing. In the hallway, Chrollo had a look that read “I’ve about fucking had it.” 

“Did they say you have...fish?” Bella giggled, “Can I see them?”

“Shut up. No. Leave me alone.” 

“Are they cute?” She laughed.

“...They’re adorable…” Chrollo mumbled. The couple in the hallway laughed and continued on with their game of, ironically, Go Fish.  
The men continued talking about anything and everything. Eventually, Levi’s eyelids started to grow heavy, but he was trying desperately to stay awake with Erwin.

“Go to bed, Levi.” Levi shook his head adamantly. 

“No.” Erwin sighed, Levi always was stubborn. He grabbed Levi’s cheeks and moved his head to look at Erwin.

“Go. To. Bed.” Erwin shook Levi’s face as he spoke. The man could barely keep his eyes open. Erwin wondered how long it had been since he had a good night’s sleep. Erwin softened his grip on Levi’s face and tilted the man’s head down, placing a kiss on his forehead. “Please, Levi.”

“But-”

“But nothing. You need to rest. How long has it been since you’ve slept?” Levi looked down. 

“I sleep fine.” Erwin scoffed.

“Funny.” Levi leaned into Erwin’s hands. Erwin took his head and pressed it into his shoulder. “At least take a nap. I’ll wake you in an hour.”

“45 minutes.”

“45 minutes.”

“Okay.” Levi let his head rest on Erwin’s lap as he curled into a ball. 

“Okay,” Erwin whispered, “Goodnight, Levi.” Erwin stroked the man’s head until he drifted off to sleep. Chrollo knocked on the door after 15 minutes. 

“Erwin, I have a way for you to stay longer. Well, sort of. You’ll have to go back for a little while, I have to practice it first.” Chrollo looked down at the sleeping man, then back up to Erwin, “Don’t tell him yet or do. I don’t care. Okay, bye!” Chrollo scurried out of the room, he seemed out of breath and a little disheveled. His tie was half way off and crooked, his suit jacket was gone, and his hair was a mess. Erwin looked down at the sleeping Levi.

“Did you hear that Levi?” There was no answer, he was out cold. Forty-five minutes turned into an hour, then two, then three. Erwin only had 15 minutes before Chrollo had to send him back. Levi stirred, tossing and turning. Erwin shook him awake.  
“Has it been 45 minutes?” Erwin nodded, a little teary-eyed. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t be mad.” Levi looked at the clock on the table. He whipped his head back around to Erwin.

“Three hours? Erwin…” Erwin smiled sadly.

“I’m already the reason you can’t sleep every other night, I couldn’t let you stay awake for me.”

“But now we only have 15 minutes.” Erwin caressed Levi’s cheek. He pulled the man closer, kissing him deeply. They didn’t speak. They spent their last moments together, wrapped in each other's arms. A knock came from the door.

“Time to go, Erwin.” Erwin rose from the bed, gave Levi one last meaningful kiss, then left with Chrollo. Bella came to Levi’s side, hugging him. 

“I wish I could forget him.” Levi groaned into his hands. “But if I did, I’d never forgive myself.” Levi sobbed throughout the night, waiting for Chrollo to return. When he did, Levi didn’t yell, he didn’t fight back, he simply hugged him. Then, he left.


	17. The Demon King and His Knight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place during the five days of chapters 15 and 16
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1SjCMPkXpZUKXzdh0QjLeT?si=cvYgZo5HToibbriCq4dFUw

Chrollo had asked that no one visit the hospital for a few days. When they asked him why he just got defensive and told them not to ask questions. Oikawa didn’t care. He wasn’t even listening, just admiring Chrollo as his boyfriend stood next to him. Iwa elbowed Oikawa for the fourth time. 

“Ow! Stop it!” Oikawa whined. 

“You aren’t even listening,” Iwa growled. Oikawa wiped the look of betrayal off his face and replaced it with a sinister smirk.

“Aw, Iwa don’t be jealous!” Oikawa wrapped his arms around Iwa’s neck, “Do you want me to fawn over you too?” Iwa turned his head, his face was just a few inches from Oikawa. Oikawa leaned in for a kiss, Iwa leaned in too. Not for a kiss though. Iwa threw his head back and launched it forward, crashing into Oikawa’s head. “Ow, ow, ow! What the fuck, Iwa! That really hurt…” Oikawa screamed. Chrollo stood in the doorway, fed up with the couple. Are Bella and I this annoying? No wonder Levi hated that double date. 

“Are you two done? Do you understand?” Chrollo asked pointedly. Iwa nodded, nudging Oikawa to do the same. He did, though he had no clue what he was agreeing to. “Great, I’m leaving, then.” Oikawa protested flirtatiously and Iwa bonked him on the head for the final time. Chrollo left the couple to do whatever it is that they do. 

“Would you stop hitting me?! It’s really starting to hurt.” Oikawa turned to Iwa and yelled.

“I would if you quit acting like a hooker. It’s a learning opportunity.” Iwa smirked.

“It’s abuse.” Oikawa barked. Iwa laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair, walking toward the couch in the middle of his apartment. He plopped down on the couch, leaving room for Oikawa to cuddle up next to him. Oikawa remained in the doorway, pouting as usual. Iwa glanced over to him, waiting for him to quit pouting and walk over. He didn’t. He just stood with his arms crossed, his body turned away from Iwa. Iwa sighed.

“Fine. I’m sorry, Oikawa. Do you want to pick the show tonight?” Oikawa beamed and bounded over to the couch. He flopped next to Iwa and snuggled close to him, grabbing the remote in the process. Iwa draped his arm over Oikawa’s shoulder and pulled him close.

“We’re watching Drag Race,” Oikawa announced. Iwa groaned.

“Ugh again?”

“This is the price you pay for literally beating me.”

“It’s how I show my love.” Iwa made a smoochy face at Oikawa, who shoved him away.

“Your love is painful.” Iwa squeezed Oikawa into a tight hug.

“Let’s watch something else.” Iwa placed kisses all over Oikawa’s face.

“This is manipulation…I like it.” The two flipped through the channels for a little while, eventually landing on some dumb cartoon from when they were kids. They weren’t really paying attention to the plot of the thing, just reminiscing back on old playdates and sleepovers. 

“Do you remember that game we used to play as kids? Um...shit what was it?” Iwa started.

“Oikawa the Demon King and his trusty knight Iwa!!” Oikawa shouted, throwing his hands up and flopping over onto Iwa’s lap. The two laughed for a while and continued to reminisce. And then they got bored of that so there was lots and lots of kissing. Oikawa glanced at the clock on the tv box quickly in between kisses.

“Shit!” Oikawa pulled away from Iwa and hurried to his feet. They had lost track of time, it was almost one in the morning now. “She’s gonna kill me for real this time…” Iwa grabbed his keys and his jacket and the two rushed out the door.

“We need to get better at this, Toru.” Iwa laughed, pushing ninety. Oikawa didn’t respond, he was too busy freaking out. Iwa glanced over quickly, making sure not to pry his eyes off the road for too long. Oikawa had his head buried in his palms, hands shaking. Iwa pumped on the breaks, throwing a mom arm over his boyfriend and making a U-turn. Oikawa looked up from his hands.

“Wait, what’re you doing? Hajime, stop, my mom’s gonna kill me!” Iwa didn’t respond, he just kept driving back toward his apartment. Oikawa protested, over and over and over. They finally pulled into the driveway. Iwa unbuckled himself and placed his head on the wheel. “Iwa! What are you doing? I’m seriously going to get my ass beat when I go home!” Iwa raised his head and faced Oikawa.

“I know, that’s why I’m kidnapping you,” Iwa said with a smile. He hopped out of the car and walked around to the passenger side door, heaving it open. He offered his hand to Oikawa. “Oikawa Toru, Demon King, please allow me to be your humble knight in shining armor.” Oikawa smiled reluctantly and accepted Iwa’s hand. He stepped out of the car and Iwa scooped him up. Oikawa giggled.

“I’m the Demon King, not a princess!”

“Well, even the Demon King deserves to be treated like....well royalty.” Oikawa craned his neck up and softly kissed Iwa’s lips. 

“You always do, Sir Iwa.” Iwa carried Oikawa up the steps and into his apartment.

“Is the King okay with wearing a mere knight’s clothes to bed?” Oikawa giggled.

“I can’t do this, Iwa. This is too sweet.” The boys burst out laughing. After the boys had calmed down and Oikawa had changed into Iwa’s oversized hoodie and sweats, they curled up in bed. Oikawa checked his phone, taking a deep breath after seeing all the missed calls from his mom. Iwa wrapped his arms around Oikawa, whispering reassuring messages into his ear. 

“Don’t worry about her. I’ve got you.” Oikawa smiled and fell asleep, dreaming of his knight in shining armor.


	18. Evil Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place during the five days of chapters 15 & 16
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0llP9QzBgqTunxgduXgVmF

Iwa bolted up. A loud pounding at his door had startled him awake. He took a few deep breaths and waited for the sound to continue, but it went silent. Iwa rubbed his eyes and turned to the boy next to him. He was still sound asleep, cuddled up under a bundle of blankets. Oikawa was always cold, which was perfect because Iwa was always hot. Iwa cleared some stray hair from the sleeping boy’s face when he heard a buzzing noise coming from the nightstand on Oikawa’s side of the bed. Iwa reached over the boy, carefully so as not to wake him, and grabbed his phone. Again? Iwa thought. Oikawa’s mom was calling yet again. Iwa let it ring out. There were 26 text messages, 43 missed calls, and 22 voicemails. The pounding began again and Iwa jumped. This time, Oikawa stirred, waking up a little. 

“What’s that noise?” Oikawa whispered, slurring his words together. Iwa tucked Oikawa’s messy hair behind his ear.

“I think there’s someone at the door, they’ll leave just go back to bed babe,” Iwa said, kissing Oikawa’s cheek. Oikawa groaned.

“What time is it?” Iwa checked the phone in his hand.

“4:15.” Oikawa sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Why is someone banging on your door at four in the morning?” Oikawa slowly realized who it was at the door and the panic set in. 

“Toru, it’s fine. She’ll leave eventually.”

“Yeah, but I can’t stay here forever, Iwa.” Iwa went quiet. “What?” Oikawa asked.

“You could.” Oikawa laughed.

“Iwa, that’s ridiculous. You’re parents-”

“Are barely ever here. Besides they love you. C’mon, Toru.” Oikawa’s smile faded.

“Are you being serious? I don’t even have any of my own stuff.”

“So? We’ll just sneak in and grab your things once your mom leaves for work.” The woman pounded on the door again and Oikawa jumped.

“Iwa...I-”

“Just say yes.” Oikawa flopped back on the bed and put his hands over his eyes.

“That’s so mean, Iwa.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know,” He took a deep breath, “that’s why it’s so mean. You know I can’t.”

“Toru, you’re literally terrified of her. Please.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Yet.” Iwa leaned over Oikawa, pulling his hands from his eyes. “Please?” Oikawa looked at Iwa. He sighed.

“You’re so dumb.” He laughed. “Fine, but only until she chills out, okay?” Iwa kissed Oikawa. 

“Okay. You can stay for however long you need.” Iwa kissed him again.

“Thank you.” Oikawa snuggled up to Iwa’s chest. The two had almost fallen back asleep when there was a loud crash at the door. The two shot up. Did this bitch just break my door down? Iwa thought. He threw the blanket off himself and stood, inching toward the door.

“Iwa! Don’t!” Oikawa whispered aggressively. 

“Stay here, it’ll be fine. I’m just gonna peak around the corner.” Iwa whispered back. Oikawa protested but he was already halfway into the living room. He crept around the corner, trying to see if his door was still standing. It was definitely still standing, but the door was flung wide open. Shit. Iwa turned and started back towards his bedroom to call the cops and check on Oikawa, but he collided with Oikawa’s mom in the process. She got her bearings and looked at the boy angrily. 

“Where is he, Hajime? Tell me.” Iwa had never seen the woman like this. She looked downright evil.  
“I- I don’t know, M’am.” Oikawa listened from the bedroom, terrified. 

“Don’t lie to me, I know he’s here.”

“He’s not, he left hours ago. I drove him myself.” The woman stared daggers into him. Waiting for a moment before responding.

“Fine. Let me know if he calls you.” And then she left, simply walking through the broken door. Iwa leaned against the wall, breathing out and running his hand through his hair. Oikawa hurried to his side.

“Are you okay?” He asked panickedly.

“Not that bad, you say?” Oikawa looked away. “She just broke my door down to find you. Toru, you aren’t going back.” 

“She-”

“Don’t make excuses for her, you’re staying.” Iwa slid down the wall and sat on the floor, leaning his head back to rest on the wall. Oikawa sat next to him and rested his head on Iwa’s shoulder. “Please, just stay.” 

“Okay.” Iwa wrapped his arm around Oikawa as he fell asleep on the floor. The room was cold, gusts of freezing wind blowing through the broken door. Oikawa shivered, cuddling closer into Iwa. Iwa untangled himself from Oikawa and tried to get him to move to the bed, but the boy wouldn’t budge. He sighed and smiled, grabbing the bunch of blankets from his room and wrapping the boy in them. He sat back down next to him, letting the boy use his shoulder as a pillow. Iwa spent some time admiring the boy’s face, he really was beautiful. Iwa kissed his head and rested his own head on Oikawa’s. Why didn’t you tell me how bad it was?


	19. Happily Ever After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place during the five days of chapters 15 & 16
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1qdlEXh3rcNIQHitmheglb

Iwa woke up to the sound of banging and whispered swears. He stood up, stretching a bit before turning the corner. He found an annoyed Oikawa, desperately trying to fix the broken door. 

“What’re you doing?” Iwa asked, causing Oikawa to jump.

“What does it look like? I’m fixing your door. You could at least thank me.” Oikawa smiled, turning his attention back towards the door. Iwa turned his attention to the door as well. 

“Have you ever used a hammer in your life?”

“No, but this shit is easy.” Iwa looked at the door again.

“You sure?” Oikawa turned back to Iwa, slumping his shoulders.

“It’s that bad?” Iwa chuckled.

“It’s not good, babe.” Oikawa groaned, setting the hammer down and standing. 

“I tried. Well, I’m better at breakfast anyway. What do you want?” Iwa kissed his cheek. 

“You already know.” Iwa walked into the kitchen and propped himself on a stool.

“Don’t you get tired of scrambled eggs and toast, like, ever?” Oikawa followed him into the kitchen, raiding his fridge for the necessary ingredients.

“I will when it stops being delicious.” Oikawa laughed, crouching down to grab a pan from a cupboard. 

“You really are a simple man, Iwa.” Oikawa turned on the stove and mop placed the pan on top.

“Rude.” Oikawa cracked the eggs in the pan and popped three pieces of toast in the toaster.

“It was a compliment! Promise.” 

“Mhm, I bet it was.” Oikawa turned off the stove and dumped the eggs onto two plates.

“You don’t have to believe me for it to be true, darling.” Oikawa pulled the toast out of the toaster quickly and tossed them onto the plates. Two for Iwa and one for him. “No jelly?”

“Nope.” Oikawa buttered the toast and threw salt and pepper on their eggs, extra pepper for Iwa. He grabbed a half empty bottle of hot sauce from the fridge and slid it across the counter for Iwa. He dumped a generous amount all over his eggs.

“I still don’t get how you can eat that much hot sauce. You’re a maniac.” Iwa laughed, taking a bite of his toast.

“It’s cus I’m not a pussy like you.” Oikawa gasped.

“I don’t have to make you breakfast, you know. I’ll let you starve, tough guy.” The two laughed and finished their breakfast. They spent the rest of the day lounging around the house, waiting for a repairman to come fix the door. It was later that night, when the two were watching a movie, that Oikawa realized something.

“Hey, when Chrollo was visiting, was Levi with him?”

“Oikawa, Chrollo is straight and you do have a boyfriend so will you-”

“What? No, I’m not talking about that!”

“Oh. Well, no, I don’t think so. Why?”

“Because we could...see him? Like without Levi…” Iwa thought for a second.

“You know, Chrollo looked different when we saw him right?”

“Yeah, he did...weird.” They both sat in silence for a minute, trying to think of what was different. Then, they both turned to each other.

“Bandage!” They both yelled. 

“And he had some weird thingy on his forehead!” Oikawa shouted.

“Yes! That’s gotta be why!” The two talked about it some more before the repairman came knocking at their “door.” They invited him in, let him do his job, and paid the man. The door was finally fixed. They spent the next few days trying to busy themselves until Chrollo returned. Eventually, Chrollo returned. He told them they could visit the hospital whenever they wanted, and turned to leave.

“Chrollo! Wait!” Oikawa yelled. Chrollo sighed. He wasn’t in the mood for Oikawa’s fuckery right now.

“Yes, Oikawa?”

“What’s with the tattoo?” Chrollo rubbed the marking, subconsciously trying to hide it.

“Just a guide mark, that's all.”

“Is that why we can see you?” Iwa butted in.

“Yeah. I just cover it normally.”

“Why? Aren’t you basically powerless without it.” Chrollo sighed.

“Yep, that’s why I cover it. Last time it wasn’t I leveled an entire city.” Chrollo turned and left without saying anything more.


	20. Romeo & Romeo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flashback and occurred before Chrollo and Bella met, also this is very important to the story :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2iScovXsjzON8r5gH9xu43

The man paced back and forth, running a hand through his long, ash-brown hair. His boots clunked against the tile floor as he moved. He scratched at his thin beard, contemplating his situation.

“...Jean?” A voice from the bed croaked. The man rushed to his side, kneeling down beside the bed.

“Don’t try to get up, I’m right here. You can be so, so…” The man trailed off. He was choked up and teary-eyed. The boy on the bed tried to reach his hand out, pouring every ounce of strength he had left into the motion. Jean grabbed his hand. “Stop moving, you’re gonna hurt yourself.” 

“...How much...worse can...can it get?” The voice struggled, taking deep breaths in-between every few words.

“Marco…” The man pleaded from the bedside. 

“We both...we both knew...it would...end...like this,” Marco breathed out, “But...I...I don’t...regret...it.” Jean rested his head on Marco’s hand. It was cold and boney. He didn’t have much time left and Jean knew that, but he couldn’t accept Marco’s fate.

“Marco I-” Marco shushed the boy.

“Don’t...don’t you...regret it...either…” Jean sobbed into Marco’s hand. He could still feel his pulse, weak, fleeting. “Jean...prom...promise me...you wi...will...move on.” Jean shook his head.  
“Marco, I can’t, I-” 

“No...y...you...have to...J...Jean...please.” Jean could feel his pulse grow weaker and weaker by the second. Jean nodded, unable to squeak out the words. Marco smiled weakly, “...G..Good.”

“Marco…” Marco managed a small “hm.” “Marco, I- I love you, so much.” Marco didn’t respond. Jean felt his grip on his hand loosen. “Marco?” Jean couldn’t feel the boy’s pulse any longer, his hands grew cold. “Marco, please…”  
“He’s gone, Jean.” A voice announced from the doorway. Jean picked up his head and wiped his eyes, turning toward the voice. In the doorway stood a blond man. He had pale skin and bright blue eyes. He dressed in all white, though he was no angel. “Akira will take it from here.”

“Ryo I-”

“Don’t. I don’t care. You know the rules, Jean.” Ryo stated. He had no sympathy for the man, none whatsoever. 

“Yes, sir.” Jean bowed his head, choking back tears.

“Let’s go, we’ll discuss repercussions once we get back,” Ryo turned to leave, then turned back towards Jean, “And clean yourself up. You look like shit.” Ryo continued out the door, and a few moments later Akira walked in. 

“I’m sorry, Jean…” Akira mumbled as he waited for Marco’s soul to appear.

“I bet you are.” Jean retaliated. Akira sighed deeply.

“I really am Jean, but Ryo would’ve done the same thing if it were me if it were any of us.” Jean scoffed.

“If it were you, he’d give you as much time as you wanted. He’d give you all the little playthings you could ever want. But for the rest of us…” Jean paused, looking toward the bed where Marco used to rest, “the rest of us don’t get that luxury.”

“If you had just told Ryo, he would’ve reassigned you before it got this bad.”

“I didn’t want to be reassigned, I wanted more time. I wanted to be with him.”

“But Ryo-”

“Ryo doesn’t give a shit about us! He cares about you and you alone. You’re welcome to do as you please, but the rest of us, we’re expected to stand by and do our jobs like good little worker ants. And god forbid we feel anything! I mean, Jesus, he expects us to meet thousands of beautiful, sweet, caring souls and just watch them leave? Force them to leave? I know you’re new to this, so you don’t know what it’s like to watch person after person cry out to their loved ones. To listen to their pleas for more time. To watch them deteriorate before you. Marco was still young, he still had so much life to live, and Ryo took that away from him. So don’t tell me that Ryo cares.” Akira sat in silence for a while before he spoke again.

“You should probably go, Ryo won’t wait much longer.”

“Right.” Jean fixed himself up a bit before walking out the door.

“Jean,” Akira called from the room, “Do you...do you want to see him one last time?” Jean answered without turning back.

“No.” He paused, trying his best not to run back to Marco, “I made a promise.” Jean continued on his way out, meeting Ryo at the end of the hall.

“Finally, took you long enough, let’s go.” Ryo turned to walk down the steps.

“Fuck you, Ryo.” Ryo stopped dead in his tracks. 

“What was that, Jean?” Ryo asked, still facing away from him.

“Fuck. You.” Ryo smiled and turned around.

“I was hoping I heard you right.” He walked back towards Jean. “We are going to have so much fun.” Ryo patted Jean’s face, then turned and went back the way he came. Ryo whistled from the stairwell, “C’mon dog, let’s go.” 

. . .

Jean’s punishment was simple: he was to be at Ryo’s beck and call, just like a dog. His punishment would’ve been less drastic had he not committed “insubordination” by cursing out Ryo. Jean obeyed, reluctantly at first, but as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Jean stopped resisting. Jean had been Ryo’s dog for eight months when he heard rumors of a new guide, one that may even be more powerful than Ryo. Word spread like wildfire, and eventually Ryo caught wind of it. He beckoned Jean to his room after hearing of this new guide.

“Find out who it is. I want you to either confirm or deny this rumor so we can put a stop to it before it gets out of hand. Understand?” Jean nodded and turned to leave. “Oh and Jean? If I find out you lied to me, you’ll really be in for it.” Jean nodded silently and left. There’s not much else he could take anyway, Jean thought. He searched for days for this mysterious guide but found nothing. He was about to throw in the towel when he came across a man he had never seen before. He watched from a distance as Akira and the man spoke.

“I’ll explain, so basically, we guide’s all have shared powers and special powers. For example, we can all teleport, have enhanced strength, and have the ability to make deals with other guides.” Akira explained to the new guide.

“Deals?” 

“Yes. If two guides can come to an agreement that benefits both of them, it becomes a contract, binding the two to their word. If the contract is broken knowingly, then the guide will be subject to punishment from Ryo.”

“So could a deal even bring someone back to life?” Jean listened more intently. 

“Well...um...I guess, but the person giving the request would have to pay immensely.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well typically, a deal would benefit both participants, but with something like that...the other guide would be getting almost nothing. So in order to balance that out, instead of an equal reward, it’s more of a payment.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But you can’t tell anyone this. If other guides knew about this method, souls would come back left and right.”

“Okay, I’ll keep it to myself. So, what is your special power, Akira?”

“Oh, well, I call my ability “Devil Man,” basically I can turn into a powerful devil like that.” Akira snapped his fingers.

“Oh wow, how do I know what mine is?” 

“You’ll get a guide mark in a few weeks. They typically appear on the shoulder or back. As long as you let me or Ryo know when that happens, we can take you to test out your ability.”

“Oh is that what this is?” The man pulled something off his forehead, revealing a mark engraved underneath. Immediately, two large beasts materialized beside him. Akira hurried to cover the mark.

“Cover that up! Are you crazy?!”

“What? I was just showing you my mark as you said.” 

“I- I need to get Ryo, excuse me.” Akira hurried away but was quickly halted by Jean.

“Not a word to Ryo, Akira. You owe me.” Akira thought for a minute, then reluctantly agreed. Akira left and Jean approached the man. “That’s some power you have there. What’s your name?”

“Chrollo.” Jean smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Chrollo.”


	21. The Past is in the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flashback and occurred before Bella and Chrollo met

“And you are?”

“Jean, but that’s not important. Can you show me that mark of yours?” 

“But Akira said-”

“Akira doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I just need to see something.” Chrollo hesitated, scrunching his nose in thought. 

“Alright.” Chrollo peeled away the small bandage on his forehead. Once again the two beasts materialized beside him. Fish, interesting. Jean thought, inspecting the man. 

“When did you notice the mark? How long ago?” 

“Two days ago.”

“And when did you get here?”

“Five days ago.” Jean stopped.

“You received that marking, on your forehead, three days after you got here?” Chrollo nodded, a little confused and concerned. These fish don’t seem hostile but Akira was terrified of them. Ryo must have told him something. “Do you know how to control these two?” Chrollo nodded.

“I just concentrate really hard on what I want them to do.” Jean raised his eyebrows as a kind of signal to show him. “What do you want them to do?” 

“What can they do?”

“From what I’ve tried so far: find souls, mask a presence, travel through realms, shapeshift, temporary invincibility, grant foresight, revive souls, pause time, shared telepathy, access memories-”

“Stop, stop, stop. You tried all of that in two days?” Chrollo nodded. I get it now. So he’s the only one who can kill Ryo then. Jean smiled. “Fascinating, and what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Well, do you do anything special or is it just the fish?” Chrollo looked down, scratching his head. 

“Um...yeah, yes I do, but it’s uh…”

“What? Embarrassing?”

“No, no, not embarrassing. I just, well, last time I kind of…”

“Spit it out, kid.”

“I completely leveled my hometown…” Jean’s eyes widened. “Not on purpose! It was the first day I had my mark! I was just messing around and well…” Oh wow, this kid is no joke. Now I get why Akira was so scared. This is perfect. 

“Can you control it now?” Chrollo shrugged. “Then let’s put that bandage back on for now.” Chrollo nodded and stuck it back on his forehead. They talked for a while longer about Chrollo’s powers and how to control them before Jean went back to Ryo. 

“Well? You were gone for a week, what did you find?” Ryo asked annoyedly.

“He didn’t seem like a threat,” Jean stated plainly. Ryo stared daggers at Jean. 

“I know you think there is nothing more I could take from you, but trust me, Jean, I have been merciful. If you think Marco was the worst pain I could possibly inflict upon you, you are sorely mistaken. Would you like to rethink your answer?” Jean never broke eye contact.

“No. He is not a threat. Akira was there as well, you can ask him if you don’t believe me.” Ryo raised his eyebrows and turned to Akira at his side.

“Is this true?” Akira looked at Jean, then back to Ryo.

“He is not a threat currently. I would prefer to watch over him for a while longer in order to confirm this.” Ryo nodded. 

“Alright. Akira, you will be this guide’s partner to keep an eye on him. Understood?” Akira nodded and Jean was excused. “Akira.”

“Yes, Ryo?”

“Why did you lie just now?”

“I didn’t. Currently, the boy isn’t a threat. He doesn’t know how to use his powers. But if Jean teaches him, neither of us are safe.”

“Understood. Do your best, Akira.”

“Of course, Ryo.” Akira turned to leave.

“Oh, and Akira?”

“Yes, Ryo?”

“Be careful.”

. . .  
Three Years Later

“I’m telling you, Chrollo, the guy literally tried to kill me!” Chrollo laughed.

“How do you let that happen, Akira? I mean come on!” 

“He was a scary guy!”

“What was his name?”

“Uh...Smith, something Smith.” Chrollo unwrapped his bandages and closed his eyes. One fish appeared next to him. 

“Describe the man to Kohi.” Akira’s smile faded. He always forgot how dangerous Chrollo could be.

“Um, blond, tall, bushy eyebrows. He had blue eyes and was pretty muscular.” Kohi returned to Chrollo’s side. The man placed a hand on Kohi’s head. 

“Erwin Smith? Ah, I see. He asked to see his fiance? Huh. Oh, he saw the man crying, he snapped and blamed you. That makes more sense.” Chrollo rewrapped his bandages. 

“When...Where did you learn that?” Chrollo looked back at Akira.

“Don’t worry about it.” Akira frowned.

“Seriously, who taught you that?” 

“It’s not a big deal, Akira, relax. Just an old friend of mine.” Akira realized.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Jean isn’t your friend!”

“And you are? Don’t think I don’t know, Akira. You and I only work together so you can monitor me, I’m not stupid.” Akira stood.

“Jean is trying to kill us, Chrollo! Are you trying to kill us?”

“Jean isn’t trying to kill anyone.”

“Oh right, please believe everything he says!” Akira shouted, turning away from Chrollo.

“Is this really that big of a deal?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, then.” Chrollo got up and walked away from Akira.

“What are you doing?”

“Leaving. We’re done here, Akira.”

“You- You can’t leave!”

“Watch me. You have no backbone, Akira. You’re more of a dog to Ryo than Jean. It’s pathetic. The only reason I’ve stayed with you is because Jean wanted me to keep tabs, but now it’s not even necessary. Goodbye, Akira.”

“Chrollo! Chrollo! You can’t do this! Don’t walk away from me! Chrollo!” Chrollo ignored Akira’s pleas and left. Chrollo kept walking and walking until he met Jean at their usual meeting place, his leveled hometown. 

“Chrollo, I thought we were done for the night.”

“I called it quits with Akira, let’s do this.” Jean took a step back.

“I don’t think we’re ready yet, Chrollo. This is a big risk and-”

“I know what I’m doing Jean. I can do this.” Jean hesitated, thinking of the repercussions. 

“Fine. But if you start to think you can’t, stop.” Chrollo nodded, closing his eyes. Kohi and Kiyo appeared next to him. He ordered Kiyo to protect them and disguise their presence. If Ryo found out what they were doing, it wouldn’t end well. He ordered Kohi to find a soul, Marco Bodt. Once Kohi returned, Chrollo placed the orb on the ground and mumbled something to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, Jean saw a pissed off Akira stomping toward them. “Chrollo, you have to stop.”

“Quiet! I can do it!”

“No! You need to stop!” Marco began to appear from the orb as Akira grew closer. 

“I can do it, Jean! Please!” Akira transformed into his “Devil Man” and began to pound on the shield Kiyo had created. Chrollo began to lose focus, causing Marco to start to fade.

“Chrollo!” Chrollo closed his eyes even tighter.

“Quiet!” The shield around them started to crack as Marco continued to fade. 

“You’re going to kill him, Chrollo! Stop!” 

“Shut up!” Chrollo flung his arms out, sending Akira and Jean flying backward, and effectively destroying Marco.


	22. Another Nail in the Coffin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowie...
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/59LMlwr9LuRvBiQFUkAiPq

A full week went by, and no one had seen or heard from Levi. Bella’s scratchy throat had morphed into an ugly cough. Chrollo tried to ignore it, but Bella could see how scared he was. She saw the way he looked when he thought she couldn’t see him. In all honesty, she was just as scared. But she just kept thinking of the deals they both made. We’ll meet again, Chro, don’t worry. He sat on the edge of the bed, focused intently on whatever movie Oikawa had put on. He had his hand in a fist over his mouth. Bella watched as his hand shook slightly. She shuffled behind him on her knees and slid her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, placing a kiss on his cheek and smiling. Chrollo moved his hand from his mouth and let his chin rest on it and looked over his shoulder.

“Hi.” He said smiling. 

“Hi.” She answered back happily. 

“What’re you doing?”

“Nothing, just taking a good look.” Bella felt the inklings of a cough creeping up her throat. She swallowed hard, trying to stifle it. 

“You’re so weird.” Chrollo laughed, turning his head back towards the film. Bella placed a hand on his chin and delicately turned his face back toward her.

“And you’re so pretty.” She smiled, leaning in for a kiss. The kiss was fleeting. Bella pulled away quickly, turning her head to cough into her arm. Chrollo took a deep breath and moved to sit next to Bella, placing a hand on her back which she promptly swatted away. She kept trying to choke down the coughs and say something.

“You’re only gonna make it worse if you keep trying to push through it.” Chrollo said softly. Bella got the coughing under control and managed to spit out a few words.

“I’m fine, quit babying me,” She croaked, “I still have like two months so-”

“37 days.” Chrollo interjected, “that’s a little over a month. Definitely not two.” She rubbed her eyes, opening her mouth to try and retaliate, but she couldn’t push the coughs down any longer. Chrollo scooted closer and rested his head on her shoulder. “Your chest pains are going to start in a week or so too.” She waited for the coughing fit to pass before laying her head on top of his. She was starting to realize the pain her deal would actually cause Chrollo. He hadn’t left her side since the coughs started, and she knew that when it was time, he would want to be the one to take her, not Akira. She sighed. That sneaky bastard, Bella thought, he knew this would happen. 

“I’ll be okay. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“But I can’t give you anything for the pain.” Bella thought for a second before groaning loudly. 

“I forgot about that.” She mumbled angrily. Bella waited for Chrollo to offer to take her now, but he never did. She knew he probably remembered the promise they made, but even then she figured he would still try and ask. She let out a tiny hmph.

“What?” Chrollo asked.

“Nothing, I just figured you would’ve offered to take me by now.” Chrollo sighed.

“Well, I’m not allowed. It’s part of the deal. But even if it wasn’t, I made you a promise.” Bella smiled tiredly. Chrollo raised his head, letting Bella rest on his shoulder. She was already visibly losing energy and it was only going to get worse. They talked for a little before Bella dozed off. Chrollo didn’t sleep, he spent the night trying to ease the pain the coughing caused. They spent the following days like this. Chrollo would wait patiently as Bella tried to fend off the coughs, then he’d spend the nights by her side trying to calm her. On the fourth day, Bella and Chrollo went through the usual routine: Wake up, cough and consol, talk and cough and consol, watch a movie, cough some more, then fall asleep and cough through the night. The two were talking as they usually did. Chrollo had made some dumb joke about Oikawa that made them both laugh. This, of course, triggered one of Bella’s coughing spells and the girl leaned over, coughing into her hand. When she sat up, Chrollo saw her staring at her hand.

“Everything okay?” He asked leaning over her shoulder. She quickly hid her hand and nodded, wiping her mouth. Chrollo frowned and reached around her to grab her hand. 

“I’m good, Chro, let’s just watch a movie. How about this weird looking one called Gerald’s Game? It looks super creepy and I was always too scared to watch it on my own.” Chrollo held his hand out, palm side up, signaling for her to show him her hand. He didn’t need to see it to know what it was. She sighed, tilting her head back and looking away from her boyfriend. She placed her closed fist in his palm and waited a couple of seconds before opening it. Chrollo winced at the sight of blood on her palm. He grabbed a tissue from the end table and wiped it away. Bella turned back to him, still refusing to meet his eyes.

“It’s okay, there’s nothing we can do about it. I take it your chest is starting to hurt too?” Bella nodded sadly.

“Just a little. It’s really not bad, I swear. It just started this morning and I didn’t wanna worry you.” Chrollo ruffled her hair.

“You always worry me.” Chrollo laughed and pulled her closer. “So what’s this movie?” Bella smiled and excitedly explained what she saw in the trailer. Chrollo looked concerned but said okay because of how excited his girlfriend was. They sat through the movie with horrified looks on their faces the whole time. They didn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned. Bella began to fall asleep in Chrollo’s arms during the last ten minutes of the movie. Chrollo rubbed her shoulder softly and placed a kiss on her forehead, whispering a soft ‘goodnight’ and ‘I love you’ when they heard someone at the door.

“Wow, Chrollo. I never expected you to just steal my whole thing.” Chrollo and Bella sat up, turning to identify the voice, though Chrollo already knew who it was. He let out a sigh of relief, telling Bella that the man was no threat. 

“Jesus, Jean, you scared me.” Chrollo rose to meet the man. Jean smiled.

“My bad, I just heard you hadn’t finished a guide job yet and well, been there, done that.” Chrollo laughed nervously. 

“It’s good to see you again, it’s been so long.”

“Yeah, well, technically I’m supposed to be in my little ‘dog cage’ as Ryo calls it, but I’ve been crammed in that thing for years now. Figured I’d stretch my legs a bit.” 

“Do I get an introduction or…” Bella asked from the bed, waving her hand at Chrollo. Chrollo laughed and apologized. 

“Jean, this is Bella, she’s my-”

“She’s your Marco.” Jean interrupted. Chrollo smiled softly.

“Yeah, she’s my Marco.” Bella began to question who Marco was when another wave of coughs washed over her. Chrollo rushed to her side as Jean made his way over more casually. 

“I’m fine, really it’s-” Bella sputtered in between coughs.

“She’s a stubborn one,” Jean said.

“You have no idea,” Chrollo said, keeping his attention on Bella who was currently shooting him a death glare. 

“How much longer?” Jean asked.

“33 days.” Bella interjected. Chrollo looked at her confused. “What? You aren’t the only one who can count.” Jean laughed.

“I like her. I’m actually surprised she’s not scared of you, even after-” Chrollo shushed the man. Bella looked at them both, utterly confused and concerned. 

“What?! Tell me! Chro, I swear to god-” Bella ordered.

“Relax! It’s just about my bandages and what’s underneath. I’ll show you eventually.” Bella scowled and nodded in agreement.

“Wait, she doesn’t know? Like about Akira? Marco? Kohi and Kiyo?” 

“Okay, I’ve met Akira, that little weasel, but who are Marco, Kohi, and Kiyo?”

“I’ll answer the first one,” Jean began, “Marco was like you. A soul I was ordered to guide, but as we spent more time together, we fell in love. I was trying to find a way to stay with him longer when Ryo, our boss and basically the antichrist, caught wind of it. Marco’s six months were slashed down to a week just like that. He murdered him without a second thought. That’s actually why I’m here.” Jean turned to Chrollo. “Rumours are going around about your disappearance, and I think word is going to get back to Ryo soon, you might want to head back for a while.”

“No.” Chrollo said. “It’ll be okay, he’ll just send Akira to check up on her soon anyway. They know she doesn’t have long and we both know Ryo is scared of me. He won’t do anything to piss me off for now.” Jean nodded. The antichrist is scared of Chrollo? My Chrollo? Why? 

“Wait, the antichrist is scared of you? Why?” Bella asked. Jean shrugged a kind of “why not” and Chrollo sighed.

“Fine, but no peeking.” He pointed at Bella who threw her hands up and agreed. Chrollo turned around so his back was to Bella and carefully removed his bandages. Okay, Chrollo, let’s not kill your girlfriend, he thought, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Kohi and Kiyo materialized beside him as always. 

“Fish!” Bella rushed over to the fish, “You’re right, they are adorable!” Bella patted Kiyo’s head as Kohi circled the girl, nuzzling at her side. Chrollo smiled, he couldn’t help but laugh. Jean whispered into the girl’s ear. 

“You do realize these things basically killed Marco right?” Bella stopped.

“I thought that was Ryo.”

“No, no. I tried to get Chrollo to bring Marco back but things went sideways and his soul was completely destroyed.”

“Is that what you did for Erwin?” Chrollo nodded, he knew how to do it successfully now. If he had listened, Jean would still be able to get Marco back. “Well, I like them. They’re sweet.” Chrollo turned around, completely forgetting about the mark he was trying to hide. His eyes widened, as did Jean’s. Bella was controlling Kohi, making him spin in circles as she pet Kiyo’s head. The two men looked at each other, then back at Bella. “So what can these lil guys do? Can they like, protect you, Chro?” Bella pretended to focus really hard on making a shield. She laughed, but no one else did. “What?” She said looking up at the men. She was completely surrounded by a blue bubble. She pointed a finger at herself as if to say “I did this?!” Chrollo smiled and laughed, nodding his head. He whistled for the two beasts, recalling them to his side and rewrapping his bandages. 

“Wow, she really is something special, Chrollo.” Jean laughed. 

“Clearly.” Chrollo laughed, still shocked by whatever just happened. Bella was jumping up and down, talking animatedly about her newfound superpowers. She kept trying to get Chrollo to bring them back out, but he was worried she might accidentally kill herself trying to control Kiyo again. The three talked more about the past, Marco and Bella, Akira and Ryo, and the deal Chrollo had made. At some point, Bella pulled Jean aside to tell him about the deal she had made. He was completely shocked.

“How did you make a deal? Only guides are able to do that. Who made this deal for you?”

“Shhhhhh!! Quit saying it so loud! It was Akira.” Jean thought for a moment, then smiled softly.

“Oh, I see. Don’t worry, he isn’t trying to screw you over. He must’ve bound the deal to Chrollo instead. That’s probably why you could control Kohi and Kiyo, too, they must’ve sensed the deal you had made. It seems Akira has learned.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s doing what he refused to do for Marco and I. Good. You two deserve each other, truly.” Jean turned to Chrollo, “I better get back before Ryo gets angry, it was nice meeting you Bella.” The couple waved goodbye and talked for a while longer before climbing into bed.

“Nice tattoo, by the way.” Bella said before rolling over, “I like it.” Chrollo smiled and closed his eyes. If I could marry you, I’d do it. He thought before drifting off to sleep.


	23. Heartburn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really proud of this chapter idk but symbolism and aesthetic :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5hAMuO0NXyu9P4OLqJqshm

Bella woke to sharp, burning pains in her chest. She tried to take some deep breaths to calm herself, but that only worsened the pain. She wanted to scream, to claw her lungs out, anything to make it stop. She wanted to leave, to pass on and never feel this pain, any pain, ever again. Chrollo was still fast asleep. All those sleepless nights seemed to have caught up to him. She thought about waking him, reaching her arm out, and shaking him awake, but she stopped herself. He was probably in more pain than she was. For Bella, the burning would fade in a couple of minutes. But Chrollo had to watch as the woman he loved suffered such a painful end, and he had brought it upon her. She knew he needed the rest. She decided to pass the time at her window. She carefully wormed her way out of bed, making sure she didn't wake Chrollo. She walked over to the window and watched as the snow fluttered to the ground. Bella quietly heaved the window open, sticking her hand outside and watching as the snowflakes melted in her palm. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned further out the window, eyes sparkling with excitement. 

Chrollo rolled over in the bed behind her. She looked back, ensuring he was still asleep and continued to catch the flakes. Chrollo felt the bed next to him. It was cold and empty. He opened his eyes slowly, panicking when he didn’t see the girl who he had woken up next to for the last month. He rolled onto his back, trying to think of where she might’ve gone when he heard a cough from the window. He turned his head. He smiled when he saw her. Her nose and cheeks were pink from the harsh wind blowing in her face. She had one hand on the window sill while she dangled the other outside, smiling and examining each and every snowflake that graced her fingertips. He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. He just smiled, admiring the girl at the window. Why do you have to go so soon?

Her pain began to disappear, slowly but surely. The longer she stayed at the window, the less she felt anything. Her hand went numb long ago, but she still tried to feel the snow resting on her palm. She still tried to feel that fleeting second of the freezing burn of a snowflake. She still longed for the relieving feeling of wetness after it had melted, that moment of calm before the next snowflake. That feeling Chrollo gave her. Wait for me, please. Bella sniffled and brought her arm inside, stepping back from the window. She pushed the window closed and wiped her arm on her sweat pants, climbing back into bed. Chrollo had closed his eyes again, pretending to be asleep. Bella laid on her side, using his chest as a pillow and draping her arm over his torso. 

“Cold.” He murmured, smiling a little. The girl didn’t respond, she just cuddled closer to him. He wiggled his arm underneath her and curled it around her. He stroked a strand of her hair, brushing it out with his fingers over and over again. Soft, always soft, he thought as he continued to brush through her hair. He whispered her name a few times, softly and barely audible, trying to see if she was truly sleeping. When she didn’t respond, he began to whisper, either to her or to whatever god was out there.

“I wish I had been more selfish when I made that deal,” he began, “I wish I’d done a lot of things. Like how I wish I’d met you sooner. Or how I wish I never left you,” he paused and took a deep breath, “I wish I never lied to you, about any of it. I wish I could say I don’t regret it, but I do. I regret not meeting you sooner. I regret leaving you and lying to you. But don’t think for a second that I regret loving you. I will never regret that.” He continued to play with her hair as he talked. “I hope you realize that. And I know you’ve probably already done something stupid we’ll both regret later because of me. But just know that no matter how long it takes, I’ll come back for you,” he looked at the girl sleeping so peacefully at his side, “I’ll always come back for you.” Chrollo kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. At his side, Bella couldn’t help but smile. I’ll hold you to that, Chro. You better come back for me.

. . .  
3 Days Later

Levi sat on his couch, wrapped in blankets with a cup of tea at his side that had gone cold minutes ago. He couldn’t bring himself to drink it. He could barely tolerate the smell. Since Erwin left, Levi refused to sleep. He vowed to never sleep again, though he knew that was the opposite of what Erwin wanted. He just sat in the deafening silence of a home that was meant for two. Wrapped in too many blankets for one man. Sitting on a couch too big for one person. He left the lights off, he refused to see his empty home in the light. How long are you going to make me wait, Erwin? Levi couldn’t handle another five years without him. I need you. 

His phone lit up beside him, forcing him to see how dirty the house had gotten. He leaned over and checked the caller: Iwa. He sighed and answered the phone, he did owe them an explanation.

“What?” Levi answered harshly.

“Have you been to the hospital recently?” Iwa asked. Levi rolled his eyes.

“No.”

“Oh shit, so you really don’t know?” Levi sighed heavily.

“No. What is it?” 

“Bella’s symptoms. They’ve started and…”

“Spit it out, Iwaizumi.” 

“She collapsed.” Levi, for the first time in 10 days, untangled himself from the blankets and ran out the door. He got in his car and sped to the hospital. Once he got there, he practically broke down the door. Instead of an unconscious Bella, he saw the couple sitting and talking on the bed.

“What the hell?” Bella and Chrollo turned to him.

“Levi? What’re you doing here?” Bella asked. The door closed behind him. He turned to see Iwa, Oikawa, Victor, and Yuri behind him. Iwa and Victor were holding the door shut while Oikawa and Yuri hit the deck, running for their lives. 

“Iwaizumi.” Levi glared at the boy. Iwa, who was usually unshakable, stuttered when he spoke.

“Now, Levi...W-we just wanted to check u-up on you. It’s been a while.” 

“Iwaizumi…”

“Guys, what’s going on?” Chrollo asked, rising from the bed.

“Were you behind this too?” Levi’s voice began to shake and he bit the inside of his lip nervously. Chrollo walked closer to the man.

“No? I don’t understand, what’s happening?” 

“Why would you do that? I thought...I thought..” Levi’s voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes. “I thought I lost her too.” Levi squeaked out. Chrollo placed a hand on Levi’s shoulder and leaned down to his ear.

“Please, Levi, be patient. I promise I’m so close, but I won’t rush this. Trust me, It’s better this way.” Levi grabbed Chrollo by the wrist and dragged him out into the hallway. He slammed the door behind them and turned back to Chrollo, tears streaming down his face.

“When? How much longer until I can see him again? Please, Chrollo, I’m-” He started to sob, “I’m so...tired.”


	24. The Trials and Tribulations of Resurrecting One Erwin Smith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little euphoria reference with the title :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1I7Rg5rQby0qHeSPnOfYpa

Chrollo paced back and forth in the room, his dress shoes echoing in an all too familiar way. Everyone had left about half an hour ago, and ever since then he’d been pacing around the room. He stopped, sighing and running a hand through his hair before balling his hand into a fist and screaming silently. 

“Chro, just go! I’ll be fine here,” Bella yelled from the bed.

“18. 18 days by the time I get back, I can’t do that!”

“So would you rather do it later when I have less time? You’re ready now! Quit putting it off and-” Bella paused to take a breath, “And just grow a pair!” 

“But what’s gonna happen when no one’s here to make sure you don’t, I don’t know, pass out on the floor? Or literally cough up a lung, which I’ve seen happen, by the way and let me tell you it is not-”

“Chrollo! I am telling you to go! Don’t make me make this my dying wish.” Bella raised her eyebrow at him. Chrollo spluttered.

“Why would you go and say that! Why? What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Chrollo rubbed his head and ruffled his hair. Bella laughed.

“Go! I’ll be here when you get back. I pinky promise.” Bella smiled, though she hoped he wouldn’t leave. She didn’t know if she could handle being away from Chrollo for twelve days. It made her sick to her stomach. He groaned, walking back over to the bed. He flopped down, laying his head in her lap.

“I don’t like this.” He mumbled. Bella stroked his head, twirling a strand of his black hair around her finger. “I don’t want Ryo trying to get you while I’m gone.”

“Well, why don’t you leave Kiyo with me?”

“I can’t. I can’t protect you from so far away for so long.”

“Well yeah, but I can control her too, right? So can’t I just keep her with me until,” Bella took another deep breath, “Until you get back? That way, she can keep me company, and if someone comes, I can just,” Bella made a ‘bwoosh’ noise and made a circle around herself with her hands. 

“I don’t know, do you think you could do it again?” Bella shrugged.

“I dunno, but wouldn’t Kiyo and Kohi be connected in some sorta way? So if I’m in trouble, I can contact you?” Chrollo thought for a second.

“I’ve never tried it. I guess we could find out.” Chrollo went to remove his bandages when Bella stopped him.

“We can try it once we need it. Now go, I’ll be fine. Besides, Levi can always come and keep me company.” 

“...Fine. But Levi needs to be here before I go, so we’ll have to wait until morning.”

“I guarantee he’s waiting in the hallway right now.” Chrollo frowned and walked to the door, swinging it open. Of course, there he was, crouched in the hallway with his head buried in between his legs. Chrollo sighed. 

“I’m leaving soon. Watch over Bella for me.” Levi’s head shot up, and he hurried to his feet.

“Of course,” Levi said as he walked into the room and sat in the chair beside Bella’s bed. He sounded desperate. Bella got up and walked over to Chrollo.

“I really don’t like this,” Chrollo said, grabbing her hands. 

“I know.” She answered, “But it’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna come back for me, right?” Chrollo smiled.

“I love you,” He began, backing out of the room, “Don’t you dare let her die, Levi.” Levi nodded from the bed, a little scared of the man.

“Wait!” Bella said, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. She stood on her tiptoes, reaching up and unwrapping his bandage. She looked at his mark for a moment. This was the first time she had seen it so clearly. She planted a kiss on his forehead, then his lips. “Be careful.” She said as she shoved him out the door. He turned back to her and took a deep breath. Then, he bent down to Kiyo, placing a hand on her head, and gave his orders.

“Protect her at all costs, Kiyo. Go.” The fish swam to Bella’s side, circling the girl. “I mean it. Don’t die on me, little lady.” He pointed at her as he turned to leave. Bella closed the door behind him and collapsed on the bed. Levi walked over to her.

“Did you die? Did I mess up already?” He asked, trying his best to make a joke.

“I wish.” She said into the bed.

“He’ll be back.” Bella rolled onto her back and placed her hands over her eyes.

“I don’t get how you do this.” 

“Do what?”

“How can you accept that he’s gone?” Levi was taken aback by her question.

“I guess you just start to get used to the empty rooms. The awkward silences get less awkward. The empty beds seem to get smaller. Cold hands learn to get warmer on their own. But the things they said, the way they made you feel, that never goes away. You started wishing that it would. Praying to some make-believe man in the sky that you’ll wake up one morning and forget all about them. Forget about the one person who ever made you feel...lovable. You hate yourself for ever thinking such a vile thought, but for a moment, just a fleeting moment, you think, ‘wouldn’t it be so much easier if I never met them?’ You would’ve never felt loved enough to care so deeply about them. You would be living your life instead of crying out to someone who will never hear you. But you can’t forget them, no matter how hard you try.” 

“I…”

“Don’t apologize. I don’t need it. I’m lucky enough to get my person back.”

“I wasn’t...I wasn’t going to.” 

“Then what were you going to say?”

“I could never forget him. I never want to. For the first time in my life, I actually feel so...wanted.” Levi tried to hide his sadness. He knew Chrollo hadn’t told her about that part of the deal. And now he understood why, and even he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was actually starting to regret making Chrollo leave.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?” He had so much to be sorry for, but he decided on one.

“For taking Chrollo away from you.” Bella smiled.

“He’ll come back. He always will.”

. . .

Chrollo wandered through his barren hometown once again. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, he was just letting his legs move. All he could think about was Bella. He had only been here for an hour, but it had probably already been a day for Bella and Levi. 

“Kohi. Can you contact Kiyo?” Kohi wiggled around for a while before he opened his mouth. Chrollo couldn’t hear anything but static. Shit. “Okay, Kohi, we’ll try again later.” He stopped moving and bent down, feeling the loose, dry dirt with his hand. It was almost sand-like. Perfect. “Alright, Kohi, you’re up.” Kohi bolted north. It took him much longer to find Erwin this time, almost another hour. Two days already? Kohi once again placed the orb in Chrollo’s palm, but this time, Chrollo didn’t set it down. With his foot, Chrollo drew his marking in the dirt. In the center, he placed Erwin’s soul. You’ve got this. “Kohi.” The fish began to circle the drawing in the dirt, slowly at first, then much faster. Eventually, Kohi had created a sort of tornado of dirt. Three days… “Alright, bud, come here.” Kohi slowed down and returned to Chrollo’s side. The vortex continued without the fish circling. Chrollo closed his eyes and focused on opening the orb before him. Erwin emerged and the vortex instantly collapsed around him.

“Chrollo, back so soon?” Chrollo smiled.

“Your husband won’t leave me alone.” Erwin smiled too.

“That’s my husband.” 

“So,” Chrollo clasped his hands together, “This time is a bit different.” Erwin looked at the piles of dirt surrounding him.

“Yes, it seems like it.”

“It’s going to take longer since I’m actually resurrecting you this time.” Erwin’s eyes went wide.

“When you said longer I thought you meant a few months, not…”

“Do you not want to?”

“No! No! I do! I do.” 

“Good because I left someone up there I really need to get back to.” 

“So what do I need to do?”

“Think about the day you died. It’s going to take a while. Once you die we typically erase that memory, but fragments still exist. Take as long as you need.” Erwin sat on the ground and closed his eyes. He thought for seven hours before he finally remembered. 

“What now?”

“Now I violate your privacy,” Chrollo said, pressing his hand on Erwin’s forehead. Erwin’s body went limp as Chrollo sifted through his memories. An hour later, Chrollo found it. He took the memory of Erwin’s death and altered it. Now, instead of dying alone in some hospital, he was in a coma about to wake up. Erwin slowly started to fade as he woke from his “coma.” I did it. Chrollo said before collapsing on the ground. He started to doze off but forced himself awake. He checked his watch, ten hours, thank god. “Let’s go home, Kohi.”

. . .

Bella laid in the bed with Levi, curled up at his side with tear-stained cheeks. Levi patted her head awkwardly, trying his best to comfort her. It had been 11 days and no sign of Chrollo or anyone else. 

“Tomorrow right? He’ll be back tomorrow.” Levi whispered.

“I know...but it...hurts.” Levi pulled her head closer and rubbed her shoulder. 

“Your chest?” Bella nodded. She collapsed for the first time two days ago and she was having extreme trouble breathing now. Levi sighed. He opened his mouth to apologize when the door flung open. Levi helped Bella sit up. Erwin basically ran through the door.

“Levi!” Levi hurried to his feet and the two crashed into each other.

“You’re...you’re real. You’re alive?!?” Erwin nodded through teary eyes and Levi threw his arms around him. The men held each other sobbing for a while before taking each other’s hand and walking through the door. Bella sat anxiously, waiting for the love of her “life” to walk through the door. She waited for minutes but...nothing. She had almost given up when an exhausted Chrollo trudged through the door, securing his bandage. Bella hurried to her feet, trying her best to run to him, but when Chrollo saw her struggling to stand he rushed to her side.

“Are you insane?! Sit down! You’re gonna kill yourself!” Bella pulled herself up to his lips.

“Shut up.” She said before pulling him down into a long passionate kiss. They stayed like that for a while before they both pulled away, smiling. “You came back.” 

“I came back.” He pulled her closer, holding her head to his chest. “I’ll always come back.”


	25. A Night to Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ERURI BRAINROT WEDDING!!!! :DDDDD
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4M5hDm7s9y9CbQdGk9zn8E&si=91cca9af32f949fd

“We need your help with something.” Oikawa and Iwa looked at the couple drowsily. It was still dark out and the two had woken up to loud pounding on their door, which honestly gave them a bit of PTSD. Iwa rubbed his eyes, trying to get them to focus on two men at their door. As his eyes began to focus, he recognized one of them as Levi, who had been the one to speak earlier. The other was a much taller blonde man who looked stern and serious. Oikawa yawned.

“Sure...Who’s the hunk?” Oikawa asked sleepily. Erwin furrowed his brow and looked at Levi who waved a hand as if to say “ignore him, he’s an idiot.” 

“This is Erwin, my fiance,” Levi answered plainly. Oikawa and Iwa looked at each other, whispering frantically, then back at the two at their doorway.

“Erwin? As in the guy who…” Iwa trailed off. Not to worry though, Oikawa picked up his thoughts.

“The dead guy?” Iwa elbowed him and he yelped. Erwin laughed heartily. Levi wasn’t as amused.

“That’s right, I’m the dead one. Your friend Chrollo brought me back.” Oikawa made a high-pitched squealing noise and covered his mouth, leaning over and turning around. Iwa’s face went stoic. 

“One moment.” Iwa turned around and bent over next to Oikawa. “What the hell was that?” He whispered sharply. Oikawa removed his hand from over his mouth and whispered back.

“Chrollo, he’s just...so perfect!” Oikawa squeaked out. Iwa stared at him for a moment.

“We’re breaking up.” Oikawa gasped.

“Iwa!” Oikawa whined.

“Go suck Chrollo’s dick or something. I’m done.” Iwa turned and rose.

“Iwa! Don’t be so serious, I was only joking!”

“Liar,” Iwa said without turning back to the boy.

“Iwaaaaaaa!” Oikawa continued to whine.

“Sorry about that. So, what do you guys need?” Iwa asked the couple.

“Well, now that Erwin is back we wanted to...get married,” Levi said almost sheepishly. Erwin smiled at him and Levi elbowed the giant man. 

“Oh, congratulations, but I don’t see how we can help.”

“Well, Levi wanted Bella to be there but since she’s kind of…” Erwin began.

“Dying?” Oikawa butted in again. Iwa held a finger up to the couple and turned to Oikawa. He grabbed a fist full of the boy’s hair and dragged him into the bedroom, slamming the door as he left. Iwa returned alone.

“I understand. So you want to have it in the hospital room, yes?” 

“Yes,” Levi answered plainly, he seemed to refuse to elaborate on anything. Erwin smiled and rolled his eyes.

“What we’re trying to ask is can you and Oikawa decorate the room for us? Victor and Yuri will also be there setting up chairs, too.” Erwin provided the information Levi refused to.

“We want you to decorate and Oikawa to make the cake. Understood, Iwaizumi?” Erwin elbowed him playfully and smiled at Iwa.

“He means please.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes you do, be nice.” Levi sighed and averted his eyes. “Drama queen,” Erwin mumbled. Levi flung his head back around to Erwin and glared at him. Erwin just smirked. In the distance, they all heard a muffled “Iwaaaa!” coming from the bedroom. Iwa sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. He quickly agreed and ran back inside, closing the door behind him. The two heard the muffled screams of Oikawa that morphed into giggling. The two men looked at each other, smiled, and left. Inside the Iwaizumi household, Oikawa was currently being tickled to death by Iwa. 

“Stop! Ah! Iwa!” Oikawa yelled through giggles. Iwa smirked.

“No! This is your punishment, Toru!” Iwa laughed.

“Maniac! You sadist!” Oikawa screamed, squirming to try and get away from Iwa. Iwa grabbed the boy by his hips and pulled him back, dragging him across the bed. 

“Oh you love it,” Iwa smirked. Oikawa continued to squirm.

“Iwa, please! I can’t breathe!” Oikawa giggled. 

“How about some mouth to mouth then?” Iwa leaned down and kissed him, still holding onto his hips firmly. Oikawa smiled as he pulled away, breathing heavily. 

“I still can’t breathe…” Oikawa said smiling slyly. Iwa grinned and kissed him again, swallowing him up in his arms.

. . .

Levi and Erwin had gone home and went back to bed. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang was up and preparing for their special day. Oikawa spent the morning baking the cake while Iwa and Yuri strung lights from the ceiling as Victor set up chairs on either side of the bed. Chrollo had left early that morning for a “special gift” for Levi. Some of the hospital staff came to help set up as well. Once they had set everything up, guests began to pour into the room. 

“OOOOOO!” One guest exclaimed excitedly. She had brown hair which was pulled into a messy ponytail. She had big square glasses that rested on her long nose. Her eyes were a caramel kind of brown and looked like pools of honey in the sunlight. She wore a white button-up, leather jacket, and nice black jeans. More and more people began to shuffle into the room. Some familiar faces appeared, but most were foreign to Bella. The guests began to take their seats and Chrollo returned. Bella poked his arm.

“Where’d...where’d you go?” Chrollo kissed her cheek and patted her head.

“To round up some special guests for Levi.” Bella looked at him confused for a moment, then she seemed to realize what he meant.

“Ah, so that’s why...there are so many empty...empty chairs.” Chrollo nodded and took a seat next to her. The ceremony was about to begin and Levi and Erwin stood at the makeshift altar Iwa and Victor had made. They had actually gotten married at the courthouse a few hours early, but they wanted to do something special. Levi opened his mouth to start his vows when Chrollo stopped him. Levi scowled at the man, but Chrollo shook it off and whistled for some reason unknown to Levi. Suddenly, a flood of Levi and Erwin’s friends that had passed walked through the door and took a seat. Levi’s eyes started to well up and everyone was a bit confused. He leaned over and grabbed Erwin’s hand and soon enough both men were tearing up. They stood there, silently pointing out their fallen friends for a few minutes before resuming the ceremony. Erwin decided to go first with his vows. He took a deep breath before he began.

“Levi, when I first met you, I could see how hurt you were. Your eyes gave you away. Most people probably never really looked at your eyes when you spoke, but I saw them. You kept yourself so closed off from the world, acting like you couldn’t care less about the people around you. But your eyes told a different story. They begged to be loved, by someone, anyone. They pleaded for someone to notice, for someone to rescue you from yourself. I fell in love with your eyes first. Then it was your voice. You spoke with such spite and anger in your words but your voice, oh your voice was angelic. It was calm, reassuring, caring even. It spoke with such passion and drive, with such purpose. I fell for your voice second. Next, it was your mind, that beautiful, stupid mind. It fed such poetic words for your mouth to speak and came up with such brilliant ideas. But it was also such a cruel machine. It spun lies and filled your head with them. It said such awful things about you, whispering them to you as you tried to sleep. But my god was your mind beautiful. I fell for your mind third. Then it was you, all at once, all-encompassing. I begged the universe to let me near, to let me give you what you so desperately craved. I wanted, no, needed to be the one to show you how to love.” 

Erwin paused for a second, choking back tears as he looked into Levi’s eyes. The eyes he had fallen so madly in love with. They were different now. Still so full of hurt, but they were no longer searching. They no longer craved the feeling of real, true love. They had found that in Erwin. Levi was holding back tears too. He smiled softly at Erwin and Erwin took a deep breath before starting again.

“Levi, I have never known someone like you. You mean so much more to me than you could ever know, and you deserve a lifetime that I hope I can give you. I never knew a heart could love someone so fully, so deeply as I love you.” Both men broke down, tears streaming down their faces. Levi took a moment before he began. 

“Erwin, before I met you I had no purpose to the life I was living. I spent my days wandering this earth in a haze. I was filled with such anger and resentment, with such pain I- I didn’t know how to deal with it all. But then I met you and suddenly I had purpose. I had something in my life worth fighting for, something I wanted to fight for. Erwin Smith I am so incredibly in love with you. I am yours and yours alone. I have never in my life been so willing to give everything to a person. And I thank God that I finally found my person, my soulmate. When I lost you, I felt so numb, like everything you ever made me feel had been ripped from my body. But now, I can finally be whole again. I need you, Erwin. I need you in my life and I know now what love is. You are love. The human embodiment of it. You are my everything and more. I love you, Erwin Smith, I love more than words can express.” Everyone in the room was sobbing now. The two got the go-ahead and immediately embraced, kissing each other deeply, passionately. Everyone clapped and cheered, some with tears still streaming down their faces. 

The service ended and the guests mingled for a while before slowly trickling out of the room. Levi and Erwin thanked the others for helping set up and then left hand in hand. Victor, Yuri, Iwa, and Oikawa hung around for a bit, just chatting and laughing before they too left. Chrollo turned to Bella immediately after the door. She looked at him and laughed. 

“What’re you doing.” Bella laughed. Chrollo blinked. “What?” It took everything inside him not to say it. 

“Nothing.” Chrollo smiled. 

“What?!”

“Nothing!”

“Tell me!” Chrollo smiled at the floor. Bella shoved his arm weakly. “Please!” Chrollo went silent, still smiling. Just say it. Just tell her. Bella had moved on, going on and on about how cute the wedding was. She rambled on about the vows and their suits and the lovely guests.

“Marry me.”


	26. Cup of Trembling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are...ooo yikes ouch :/
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1j1hyvFOFdlDOHOd0LmsSw?si=0d8410315ca04a21

“Huh...wh- I-...What?” Bella stammered. She was completely taken aback by the man’s forwardness. Chrollo didn’t answer, he just smiled and flopped down on his back, tucking his hands behind his head.

“So did you want to watch a movie tonight or play cards because we’ve been watching a lot of movies recently and as much as I love them, I’m starting to get-” 

“Shhwhshwhshut up, shut up. Go back.” Bella interrupted, leaning over the man. 

“What?” Bella stared at him, jaw dropped. 

“No, no, no, no, no, no. Don’t do that ‘aw it’s super cute and funny if I pretend I didn’t say it so I can get a reaction out of her’ bullshit. What the fuck did you just say? Because if you said what I think you said, I’m going to kill you.” Chrollo chuckled, then smiled slyly. 

“Wow. We really need to work on your attitude, little lady.” 

“Attitude my ass! What did you say?” 

“Ok, first of all, no need to yell. Secondly, if you think I said it I probably did.” Bella stared at him. 

“That’s it. Go away. Leave me alone. In fact-” Bella started to call for Levi or anyone who could hear her.

“That’s not gonna work. Just calm down for a-”

“Calm down. Calm down he says. You know if I wasn’t on the brink of death, I’d whoop your ass Chro.”

“It’s Chrollo,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What?” Chrollo shook his head.

“Are you hard of hearing? I mean, damn. I ask you to marry me and you don’t hear. Now I’m talking to you and-”

“So..okay...so, yeah.” Chrollo laughed.

“Now you’re just saying words.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“I will.” Chrollo smiled evilly.

“You’ll what?”

“I’ll marry you.” Now Chrollo was the one taken aback. He expected her to dodge the question for a little before she actually said it.

“Really?”

“Yeah, but not now. Wait a year, then we can get married.” Chrollo frowned.

“Bella, we don’t have a year.” The girl smiled.

“Don’t we?” She said, reaching over him to grab the pack of playing cards on the table. 

“Last time I checked we have 17 days now. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but that's not a year?” Bella laughed.

“Good job, Chro, you know how numbers work,” Bella said, shuffling the cards. “So, War or Old Maid maybe? Oh, we could play Slap Jack!” Chrollo stared at her.

“What did you do?” Bella kept shuffling.

“Nothing? So which one?” 

“Old Maid. Why are you saying we have a year?” Bella split the cards into two piles.

“I didn’t. I said wait a year. You said you’d come back for me right? So, come back and in a year I’ll marry you.” Chrollo’s whole body went numb. He wanted to vomit. We don’t have a year. His nostrils started to burn and his cheeks were heating up. I don’t have a year. His hands went cold and started to shake. I need you now. “Chro!” Chrollo shook his head and blinked.

“Uh, sorry, what?”

“You ready to play?” 

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Bella smiled and rolled her eyes. The two played cards for a while until Bella started to tap out. Each day she seemed to fall asleep earlier and earlier, sleeping later and later. She felt awful for sleeping through so much of the day, but no matter how hard she tried to fight it she always seemed to fall victim to this illness. Chrollo didn’t sleep for days. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Bella said. More so why she said it. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. 

“...Chro…” He turned to face her.

“Yeah? What’s wrong?” He asked, stroking her hair. 

“Cold…” Chrollo chuckled.

“You already have like thirty blankets!” Bella groaned. Chrollo sighed. “If you wanted cuddles, just say so.” Bella nodded sleepily. Chrollo shook his head playfully and wrapped the girl in his arms. “Better?” He waited a moment for Bella to answer. “Bella?” He shook her lightly, trying to wake her, but she wouldn’t respond. Chrollo threw his head back and took a shaky breath. It’s almost over...it’s really almost over. This wasn’t the first time the girl had fainted, but each time she did, it came out of the blue. And now that the final days were growing closer, Chrollo was terrified. He didn’t want her to see him so scared for her, but they only had 13 days left. Chrollo couldn’t help but break down. He buried his face in Bella’s head, pleading silently for more time. Bella woke up a couple of minutes later. She could feel Chrollo wrapped around her, and though he never said anything, Bella could sense how scared he was. 

“I’m sorry.” She said, her voice weak and tired. Chrollo moved his head and looked into her eyes. 

“For what? It’s not your fault.” Bella shook her head carefully.

“I don’t...I don’t like you...seeing me so...so...broken.” She cried quietly. Chrollo pulled her closer.

“You aren’t broken.” She rolled over, crying into his chest. Chrollo gently placed a hand on the back of her head. He so desperately wanted to break his deal with Alisa. He so badly wanted to steal her away from this place, to just take her and run. He wanted her suffering to end. But more importantly, he wanted to be selfish. He wanted to see her. He wanted her to remember him. He wanted to marry her. But he couldn’t. Not now. In another lifetime, maybe, not in this one. He knew though, that he still had one last chance to see her happy, one last chance to see her healthy. When I take her away, after she’s exhausted her time here, I’ll see her again. I’ll marry her. And I’ll come back. 

“Bella?” Chrollo whispered. She lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest. “Do you want to hear a story?” 

“A story?” She breathed out. “Okay.”

“Do you remember that little girl I mentioned a long time ago? When we first met?” Bella nodded drowsily. “Okay, well this story is about her. Her name was Evelyn. She was only six when she passed, some kind of allergy. When I first saw her I thought, ‘Oh this should be easy enough’ but I was wrong. When I walked up to her, I expected her to scream, cry, kick, like little kids do when they see something scary. But Evelyn didn’t, she just looked up at me with her big brown eyes. She didn’t seem sad or scared or angry. I crouched down in front of her and asked ‘Are you afraid of me?’ She shook her head, so asked why. She looked up at me and said, ‘because you aren’t scary.’ She introduced herself to me and I did the same. After I explained who I was and why I was there, I expected her to ask to see her mom or dad. But she didn’t. She came closer to me and grabbed my hand with her small little fingers and dragged me over to the floor beside her bed. She ordered me to sit and watch. I told her, ‘Evelyn, we have to go.’ She said, ‘I know, but I wanna show you something.’ She flicked on this tiny TV in her room and put on some dumb little movie about cars. She looked at me, eyes bright and sparkling with enthusiasm. She said, ‘I watch this movie before I take my naps. It’s my favorite. Don’t worry, I’ll watch it with you so you can take a nap too.’ I asked her why she thought I wanted to nap and she said, ‘You look sleepy, and sad, and my mommy always makes me take naps when I’m sad and sleepy.’ So, I watched them. And I hated taking her away from her life. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of Evelyn.” Bella was awake now, as awake as she could be at least. Chrollo thought for a second before he continued.

“Every soul since then was the same. Denial and acceptance. Prayers and goodbyes. I did my job and nothing more. No one asked about me and I didn’t ask about them. And it was okay, I didn’t mind it. I’d move from soul to soul. From bedrooms to parks to lakes and rivers. But no one was special or different. They all blended together into a muddled mess of meaningless encounters. And then one day, just like any other, I got my assignment. I waited in the dark hospital room for an hour, watching as nurses and doctors flooded around this lifeless body on the bed. I heard screams and cries from friends just outside the door. Then, once everyone left, I waited for that body on the bed to realize what they had become. I watched as it sat up and looked around. I spoke, it jumped, and I continued on with my normal speech about the afterlife. But this time the soul didn’t deny or accept it. They didn’t say their goodbyes or say any prayers. No. They fought death. They looked it in the eyes and fought death. And suddenly I found it. Peace. And for the first time, I took Evelyn’s advice. I slept. Standing in the middle of a hospital room, I slept. So just know, Bella, that you are my peace of mind. You are not broken.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope some of you caught that reference to chapter two ;)


	27. Beelzebub

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize if Ryo and Akira aren't portrayed properly, I never finished dmcb. I tried my best from what I remembered but I took a lot of creative liberty. :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ItZwOUZQfdCSFrPO3uZr3?si=fa083bddb808406f

“How are you feeling?” Chrollo asked. Bella sighed and groaned.

“Same as every...other day…” She smiled tiredly. 

“Do you need anything?” Chrollo rubbed her shoulder gently. She shook her head.

“Just cold….so like...cuddles?” Chrollo chuckled and looked the other way.

“Okay.” He swallowed her up in his arms and whispered to her for a while.

“Good morning, Chrollo.” An all too familiar voice called out. Chrollo sighed and forced himself to let go of Bella, worming his way out of bed. He stood, whispering something to the sleeping girl before pinching the bridge of his nose and walking over to the man. 

“Morning, Ryo.” Ryo grinned nastily. His face seemed so innocent but in reality, he was full of malice. Filled with spite and unnecessary hate. He was the perfect ruler, and if Chrollo hadn’t met Bella, that could’ve been him. But he was lucky. He had been saved.

“I think you know why I’m here?” Ryo spoke, turning towards the window. Chrollo scowled. “So, how much time does she have left? What? Two weeks?” Ryo smiled.

“9 days.” Ryo raised an eyebrow.

“Ah. Well-”

“No, don’t speak. I’m going to explain something to you, Ryo, so listen close. If you so much as take another step toward that bed, I will kill you.” 

“Will you now? In front of your little t-“ Chrollo stepped closer.

“Yes. And if you even think of calling her that again, I’ll let her kill you.” Ryo was still smiling that smug grin of his, but his eyes were scared. They looked almost childlike. 

“Let her kill me?” Ryo said, turning back to face Chrollo without moving an inch forward. “She can barely move Chrollo.” Ryo laughed.

“I can still kick your ass,” Bella spoke from the bed. Ryo stopped smiling.

“Do you know who I am, miss?” Bella laughed.

“The Anit-christ? Satan? Beelzebub? What do you prefer?” Ryo laughed at her response.

“You know this and yet you still threaten me? Mock me?”

“Well, yeah. You haven’t moved an inch since Chrollo told you not to. And you look like you’re about to piss yourself every time he talks. You’re basically his bitch.” Ryo took a breath and leaned to move his body in her direction, but after taking one look at Chrollo, he quickly halted. “See?” Bella laughed. Chrollo laughed too. 

“Chrollo. I came here as a warning. This will not end the way you think. I am being generous to you. We both know the power you hold, Chrollo. And even you must know that this domestic life you crave is not something you can have. You-”

“Oh shut up.” The two men turned back to the bed. “You don't have his best interest in mind, you’re only thinking of yourself. You just want Chrollo back where you can control him so he doesn’t kill you.” Bella sighed and rolled over, groaning. Ryo balled up his fists and clenched his jaw, looking up at the ceiling and sighing. He leaned closer to Chrollo.

“You know what happened to Jean, Chrollo,” He whispered, “You know this can’t end well. Just let me take her. She must be in a lot of pain, right? Why are you letting her suffer?”

“I’ll take her, Ryo. I made a promise. So, I will take her. Not you. Not Alisa. Not Akira. I will take her.” Bella winced at the mention of Akira. 

“You know, the girl was right. I don’t care about you or her. I’m only letting you continue this idiotic fantasy of yours because it keeps you entertained. You can’t overthrow me if you’re too busy playing house with her. And I only let Akira and Alisa do what they did because it ensured your prolonged stay here in purgatory. I may fear you now, but the longer you stay with her, the weaker you get. You’re soft, Chrollo. You’ve lost your backbone.” Ryo scoffed. “You realize you are killing her, right? You are the one killing her. If you had just done your job, she’d be happy. She wouldn’t be bedridden. That’s not love, Chrollo.”

“And you know what love is, Ryo? With who? Akira? Ryo, Akira is actively defying you! He’s done it before and he’s doing it now. You may love Akira but…”

“Quiet,” Ryo growled.

“So you know? And yet you have the nerve to tell me I don’t know love? Ryo, you should know better…”

“You know nothing, Chrollo. Be quiet.”

“Oh, I think I get it. You gave everything to him, didn’t you?”

“Stop it.”

“You were vulnerable with him.”

“I’m serious, Chrollo.”

“You really did love him. No, that’s wrong.”

“Chrollo.”

“You still do.”

“I mean it.”

“Even after all this time? Even after he’s shown you, time and time again, that-”

“Be quiet.”

“-he couldn’t care less about you.”

“You know what, Chrollo?” Ryo looked Chrollo in the eyes, never breaking eye contact. “Kill me if you want…” Ryo looked at the bed and began to take a step forward, “...but can you kill me before I kill her?”  
. . .

It happened in a flash. For a long while, no one moved. Bella sat up in the bed, staring at the two. No one spoke. No one flinched. Not one movement. They feared that if anyone moved the world would shatter around them. Then, as quickly as it had happened, it ended. Chrollo fell forward into Ryo.


	28. Angel of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I was going to have Ryo die at the end of the last chapter but I wanted to see more of him so...surprise :)
> 
> if you don't like blood, I describe it a bit so just be wary
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4FbLz8VR5UHePm4Dr2NA8I?si=d08bb42622454351

Ryo stepped away, letting Chrollo fall to the floor. Chrollo gasped for air as he lay on his back. He brought his left hand to his chest, clawing at his shirt. His body convulsed, searching for some way to force the air into his body. He threw his head back onto the cold tiles, arching his back in pain. He relaxed his body some and looked down at the hand clawing at his chest. He turned his palm and stared at the overwhelming redness of it. It poured from his chest and puddled in his hand before absorbing into his shirt and spread across his chest. His hand shook as he watched the blood ooze out of his body. No...wait…Chrollo turned his head towards the bed slowly. He reached out weakly with his other hand, stretching toward the bed. 

Ryo looked down at the man sprawled out before him. He tilted his head a little before shaking it slowly and clicking his tongue. Ryo stepped over Chrollo and made his way towards Bella. Her breathing was rapid and shaky as tears began to slip from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. No...no...please...Ryo continued on his way to the girl, walking around to the other side of the bed. Chrollo tried to call out to her. He couldn’t see her, couldn’t hear her. A tear escaped from the corner of his eye and rolled down his cheek, splashing onto the tile. Ryo grabbed the girl’s forearm.

“Looks like I had no reason to be afraid. And after all these years, who would’ve thought Lucilfer would be so easy to kill?” Ryo pulled the girl from the bed, she had become too weak to fight back. He dragged her to the other side of the room and tossed her on the ground next to Chrollo. “Go ahead. Say your goodbyes.” Bella desperately clambered her way to the dying man. She grabbed his face and turned it towards her, grabbing his bloodied hand with her own. Ryo waited as she murmured to the man, moving her hands up and down his face. “Okay,” Ryo said, turning his back to the girl and facing the door, “That’s enough. C’mon, you’re long overdue.” Ryo waited a while, then sighed at the deafening silence. “I said,” Ryo turned back to face the girl, “Let’s-” His eyes went wide. “Wai-” 

. . .

Bella desperately clambered her way to the dying man. She grabbed his face and turned it towards her, grabbing his bloodied hand with her own. Ryo waited as she murmured to the man, moving her hands up and down his face. 

“Chro?! Look at me...please.” She begged. Chrollo squeezed her hand softly. His eyes were fighting to stay open, fluttering shut then widening every couple of seconds. Bella squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of something, anything, to help him. She placed her forehead to his. “Please...tell me what to do…” She pulled away and Chrollo strained as he brought his other hand to her face. His blood had made its way out of his body and crept along the floor until both hands were covered in the stuff. He cupped her cheek with his bloodied hand. Bella leaned into it gently, then picked her head up and released his hands. “Thank you...I know now.” Bella turned back to Ryo, making sure that his back was still turned to her. She whipped back around and fumbled with his bandages for a moment before unraveling them. Kiyo and Kohi appeared. They took one glance at the man and immediately became enraged, glowing a deeper blue than usual. “Kohi,” Bella spoke. The fish was calm and non-aggressive with her. “Kill him.” She ordered, pointing towards Ryo. Kohi wasted no time making his way towards Ryo. “Kiyo, can you save him?” Kiyo buried her head in Chrollo’s chest, making an almost whimpering noise. “Kiyo. You have to save him.” 

From behind her, Bella heard Ryo’s panicked plea. It sounded like Kohi wasn’t holding back, but Ryo’s voice could still be heard. She refused to turn around, Chrollo was bleeding out quickly and she couldn’t leave him, not for a second. “Kiyo, heal him.” Kiyo circled the man, clearly terrified. “Kiyo!” The fish stopped and turned to Bella. “He will be okay. Make him okay.” Kiyo seemed to understand and enveloped Chrollo in a small turquoise light. Bella stood, ordering Kiyo to continue, and turned back to Kohi. 

“Kohi. When I said kill him, I meant it.” Bella growled, staring into Ryo’s eyes as he maneuvered around the fish.

“How…” Ryo grunted. The fish wasn’t stopping, in fact, it seemed to be moving faster. 

“I told you, I can kick your ass.” Ryo’s eyes widened as fear completely overcame him, “And now I’ll rip you apart.”

. . .

Chrollo came to a few hours later. Bella was sitting at his side, hair messy and out of breath. He looked for Ryo but he was nowhere to be seen. He groaned as he tried to sit up.

“Where’s Ryo?” He asked.

“Gone. I scared him off.” Chrollo just nodded and ruffled her hair. He put his hand behind her head and pulled her head into his chest. “Are you okay?”

“Are you?” She asked seriously. “I thought you were gonna kill him.”  
“I put too much faith in fear and not enough in his willpower. I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Pussy.” Chrollo looked down at her.

“Excuse me?”

“I basically killed the guy myself while saving your ass. You’re welcome, by the way.” Chrollo laughed.

“You did huh?” Bella nodded, “Well thank you.” 

“Chro?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m gonna pass out.”

“Okay, I’ve got you.”


	29. Spider Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two more chapters left...
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48uxvwjofZzn38U6Aq6UUJ?si=10720de010ae4d23

Bella could no longer move from the bed. Her time had dwindled down to five days, and since Chrollo had spent the last four in recovery, they hadn’t spent their time the way they wanted. Chrollo was upset, not only with Ryo but himself. He was pacing around the room, mumbling to himself and fiddling with his fingers. 

“Chro…” Bella groaned. He stopped pacing and walked over to her.

“Up?” 

“Mhm…” She had trouble speaking. It took a lot of energy and lung strength she just didn’t have. Chrollo carefully pulled her up by her waist, propping her up on some pillows so she was now sitting. “Thanks.” Chrollo stroked her hair and placed a kiss on her forehead. Chrollo walked back to where he had been pacing before and picked up where he left off. Bella sighed heavily. 

“What?” Chrollo asked, turning to face her.

“Would you stop?” She asked breathily. Chrollo took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, then scratching his head.

“I-”

“You need to calm down...stop blaming yourself,” She paused for a second, taking a deep breath, “Dumbass…” Chrollo placed his hand on his heart and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

“The things you say, hurt. You hurt me.” He said, pretending to cry. Bella giggled tiredly and yawned. 

“Are any of the guys coming over?” Chrollo shrugged. It wasn’t like they had working phones or ways to communicate. He walked around to his side of the bed and sat down, laying his head on her lap. Bella twirled his hair around her fingers and yawned again. “They haven’t been by in a while…” Chrollo tilted his head up to her.

“I’m sure they’ll be by soon. They probably just wanted to give us some time alone together, you know?” Bella nodded.

“Mmm, you’re probably right. I just don’t want to-” Chrollo stopped her. He really didn’t want her to say it. If she said it, it became real.

“I know. Don’t worry, you won’t. They’ll visit soon, I’m sure.” She began to run her hand through his hair over and over again. 

“Yeah, I know. I just-” At that moment, the door swung open and Levi beckoned for Chrollo to come out into the hallway. He hesitated, looking at Bella for her approval, which she gave him, before leaving. Mattsun shuffled into the room once Chrollo left. Outside, Chrollo saw a line of Bella’s friends waiting to go inside.

“What’s going on, Levi?” Chrollo asked, looking around at the people.

“A goodbye.” Chrollo’s chest tightened. “I know she’ll be back, but I don’t- I don’t want her to think we don’t care. And-and-and even though I know I’m being selfish by doing this because you don’t-”

“Levi, it’s okay.” Chrollo smiled softly.

“No, I-”

“Stop. You don’t have to punish yourself, Levi. If I didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t. She’s been asking for you guys.”

“She has?” Chrollo laughed.

“Yes, Levi. You people are her friends after all.” Levi smiled.

“Of course. Well, thank you.” Chrollo patted Levi on the back.

“No problem.” Chrollo turned and walked toward the stairs and out the big double doors at the bottom. He walked outside and sat on the steps, brushing the snow off of them. This is going to take a while…

. . .

Mattsun shuffled in and took a seat next to Bella, holding one end of a string. He took a deep breath and reached out to Bella, holding her hand. Bella looked at him, somewhat confused at what was happening.  
“Hey, Bella.”

“Hey, Matt. Is...everything okay?”

“Well other than all this, yeah.” Mattsun laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Look, Bella, I just- This whole thing is just so fucking crazy, and I know you’ll be back with us soon but,” He bit his lip and looked down, trying to hold back tears, “but we all hate seeing you like this. And I know I haven’t been around recently but I miss you so much. We all do. So please, hurry back, okay? We need you.” Mattsun stood and let go of her hand, patting her head a few times before leaving. What the hell was that about? The door opened a few moments later and Victor walked in, sitting in the same place as Mattsun. 

“Hey, Bella.”

“What’s going on?”

“Well, we don’t know how long it’ll be before you wake up for real, so we all kind of decided to say our goodbyes.”

“Goodbyes? But I’ll see you all again.”

“Yeah, but when Chrollo left to get Erwin, he was only down there for a few hours, but for the rest of us it was almost two weeks.” 

“I guess you’re right…” Victor grabbed Bella’s hand with both of his. 

“Bella. Even though we weren’t the closest within the group, you were always there for me. You are so kind and generous to all of us. I don’t think Yuri and I could’ve gotten married without you. These last few months have been hell without you. So, don’t take too long.” Victor patted her hand and left the room. I wonder where Chro is… Yuri came in after Victor and pretty much said the same thing. A few others came in and said their piece, though Bella wasn’t really listening. She just stared out the window at the snow. She was starting to get tired. The next one through the door was Oikawa.

“Hi.” The boy looked like he had been crying for some time now. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy. His nose and cheeks were red and he sniffled every so often. 

“Were you crying, Toru?”

“No, no. Just went outside for a little.” Bella knew that was bullshit, Oikawa couldn’t lie if his life depended on it.

“So, do you have a goodbye for me too?” Oikawa sniffled, refusing to meet the girl’s eyes. He nodded. 

“It’s more of an apology. I knew you were in love with him and I took him and I can never forgive myself for doing that to you. I was just so afraid you would hate me. Please, don’t hate me. I am so sorry Bella. I hate that I did this to you. And I’m sorry for not appreciating you while you were here. And I should’ve said this a long time ago because you don’t deserve to be lied to.”

“Toru...I’m not mad at you. I don’t hate you. I can’t hate you for something like that. I won’t hate you for who you love, Oikawa.”

“I just miss you so fucking much. I need you so badly, Bella, it hurts. None of us realized that you were the one holding all of us together. Thank you, and hurry home, Bella.”

“Of course, Toru.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and turned to leave. “Wait, Oikawa?” Oikawa stopped and turned back.

“Yeah?”

“How many more people are out there?”

“Just Iwa.” Bella nodded and Oikawa walked out. Then, Iwa entered the room.

“Hi Bella,” He said softly.

“Iwa.” Bella smiled.

“I know with everything that has happened we have this weird relationship, but I don’t want to see it like that. I love you so much, Bella. I couldn’t be happier that we met. And I know this weird love square thing we have going on is batshit insane, but I think we both met the people we were destined to be with. Even though we weren’t meant for each other like that, I’m so glad I met you. But we would’ve been a power couple for sure.”

“Oh totally, we’d be unstoppable.” The two laughed.

“Thank you for everything, Bella. And get back here fast, Oikawa isn’t taking this well.” She smiled and nodded, but grabbed Iwa’s hand before he could leave.

“Can you get Chro, please?”

“I would, but I don’t know where he is.” Bella frowned.

“He’s not in the hall?” Iwa shook his head. “Oh...okay well I need one last favor.” 

“Sure, how can I help?”

“Can you take me to the window?” Iwa nodded and walked over to the window and opened it. He scooped the girl up, walking her over to the window and setting her down carefully. He made sure to hold her up since she was too weak to stand on her own. Bella leaned out the window and looked around at the sky and the falling snow. She looked down and her face broke into an even bigger grin. Big softie. Below the window, Chrollo searched the ground for a second stick. When he found it, he took the two sticks and jammed them into the side of a little snowman. “Thanks, Iwa. You can go, I’ll be okay here.” Iwa hesitated.

“Are you sure?” Bella looked back at him and nodded. He let go of her slowly and waited for a moment, making sure she really would be alright on her own, before leaving. She watched as Chrollo searched around, scanning the ground for something. He got excited once he found a few rocks and walked back over, sticking them in the snowman’s face. He frowned, thinking hard for a few seconds and tapping his chin. Chrollo sighed and shrugged, then grabbed another rock and stuck it in the center of the face, smiling proudly. He shook his hands around and wiped them off on his jacket. He began to walk towards the steps, paused, turned back around, walked to the snowman, and gave it a little pat on the head before entering the building. Bella collapsed on the floor, head in her hands. Chrollo walked in a few minutes later and crouched down next to her.

“How’d you manage this?” He asked, extending his hand. Bella looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Are you...crying?” Bella looked at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, flopping onto the floor. 

“A...A snowman! I can’t- I can’t breathe!” Chrollo looked at her with a confused smile.

“Snowman?” She pointed at him and laughed harder.

“You- You built a- a- a snowman!” Chrollo’s eyes went wide and his smile disappeared.

“How- You- I-” Chrollo fumbled his words. Bella reached her hands out to him and he reluctantly picked her up and placed her in the bed. “Quit laughing!”

“I can’t! I’m so sorry! That was so cute!”

“Stop! It wasn’t cute!”

“It was! You looked so upset when you couldn’t find a nose!”

“I’m leaving.” Bella grabbed his hand.

“No! Please! I’m dying, Chro…” She started laughing again.

“You can’t keep doing that!” Bella wiped a tear from her eye.

“I’m sorry! I just can’t help it, I swear I’m not laughing at you!”

“You are!”

“I’m not, I’m not! I swear! I-” Bella started wheezing and coughing. 

“Yeah, see? I don’t even feel bad for you.” Bella swatted at him as she coughed. “Mhm. Does it hurt? I hope it hurts.” Bella looked at him offended. “Oh no, no, no. You don’t get to be offended. Suffer like a good girl.” She flipped him off, and he laughed as he sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. It took a while but eventually, the coughing stopped and Bella began to grow tired. “Are you okay now?”

“Thought you didn’t care…” Bella yawned. He pulled her head into his chest.

“You know I do.” She smiled.

“Yeah, I know.” She thought for a moment, “Hey, I’m...I’m really sorry we didn’t spend much time together today. Honestly, I would’ve much rather spent it with you instead of these people I’ll get to see again so soon. I mean, I love them, but…I don’t know, it feels like…”

“Like what?” 

“Like once I go back, I’ll lose you. For good. And I can’t- I don’t,” she sighed, “I really don’t want to lose you.” Chrollo wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

“I love you. I’ll always be there, even if you can’t see me. We’ll be okay. I promise you, I’m not leaving.” 

“I love you,” she paused, “Chro, I don’t want to leave. I- I need more time. I can’t go yet, I can’t leave you. I don’t want to.”

“You know you have to. But I’ll come back. And in a year, I’ll marry you.” The two spent Bella’s last days in each other’s company. On her last day, Bella fought the exhaustion as best she could, but it was a losing battle. Chrollo held her as she wept, crying and apologizing. He could feel her breaths becoming more shallow. They had minutes at best. “I knew it would end like this, but I don’t regret it. Please, don’t regret it either. We will meet again, okay? I promised you that. I’ll come back, and I’ll marry you. Then, we’ll have all the time in the world. And we can leave this hospital room and go wherever you want. I love you, Bella, don’t forget that, please.” Chrollo buried his crying eyes into her head. Bella couldn’t speak, she just squeezed his hand and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Please...stay.” But Bella hadn’t heard his plea. Her grip on his hand loosened. He could no longer feel her weak breaths on his neck. Her head slumped over onto his shoulder. 

“It’s no use, Chro. She’s basically gone.” Chrollo didn’t acknowledge the voice, who he knew to be Alisa.

“Chrollo. It’s over. Let me take her.” Another voice called out. Akira, too? 

“Quiet,” Chrollo ordered. He heard Alisa’s heels walking toward him and Bella.

“Chro, you have to let us-” Alisa spoke softly.

“No.” He barked.

“We need to take her, Chrollo. You know that.” Akira said. He walked up to Chrollo.

“Don’t touch her!” The two jumped, taking a step back, “Please…don't touch her.”


	30. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left :)
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/60ACmBZyakxDrHOqYaLiMx?si=77715439bba347a1

“Chrollo, we have to do our job.” Akira begged. He sounded conflicted, sad even.

“And I have to do mine.” Chrollo snapped, “Akira, I know you mean well, but I will break every bone in your body if you touch her.” Akira sighed and looked at Alisa who shrugged.

“Chro, I know how important she was to you-” Alisa began.

“Is to me.” He corrected.

“Of course, is to you, but you can’t keep her here. She’s suffering, Chro, and she isn’t coming back unless we take her.” Chrollo bit the inside of his lip. He knew she was right, but he couldn’t seem to let her go.

“I will take her. It was my job from the beginning, let me take her.”

“No.” Akira spoke firmly. Alisa looked at him, fear in her eyes.

“No? And who are you to tell me no?” Chrollo growled.

“I’m not the one who decided this, Chrollo.”

“And you think I give a fuck about what Ryo decided?”

“Ryo didn’t. She did.” Akira said, nodding in Bella’s direction.

“You’re on thin fucking ice, Akira, tread lightly.” Chrollo said through gritted teeth.

“Chrollo, I know how much you loved- love her, I do, but if she decided that she wanted Akira to t-” Alisa spoke cautiously, holding back tears of her own.

“She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t do that.” Chrollo interrupted.

“She did.” A new voice spoke. Jean? Why are they all…

“What are you talking about? Why aren’t you helping me? After what they did to-”

“She told me, Chrollo. That night when I first met her, she told me.” Chrollo’s breathing became erratic and pained.

“Liar…”

“She did, Chr-”

“Liar!”

“I swear on Marco, she did. She wanted Akira to take her. She didn’t want you to follow or tag along. I promise you, Chrollo, she wanted this.” Chrollo’s entire body shook and he couldn’t breathe. He felt his heart shattering inside his chest. All he could think was “Why?” Chrollo shook his head in denial.

“No...no…”

“Akira, if you will.” Jean gestured toward the girl.

“No...you can’t.”

“Chro, we-” Alisa reached out to him.

“No! Jean, why are you doing this?! Don’t you understand?!”

“Yes! Yes, I know, Chrollo! I know exactly how gut wrenching this is for you! But I’m doing this because I understand! I promised her I’d do as she asked, and I will. I don’t care how much you want it, I’m doing this for her and for Marco.” Jean looked at Alisa and nodded. Alisa frowned but complied.

“I’m sorry, Chro.” She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Chrollo jolted, letting Bella flop into Akira’s arms. 

“No! No! Let go! Let me go, dammit!” He cried. Alisa had used her ability on him, Electric Whip. It coiled around his body, keeping him hopelessly immobile.

“Hurry, Akira, Alisa won’t be able to hold him for much longer.” Akira nodded and held the girl in his arms carefully.

“Put her down! Don’t touch her! Get off of her!” Chrollo screamed, tears streaming down his face. He thrashed, trying desperately to escape his chains. “Don’t take her from me, please…” But Akira had already left, leaving Chrollo in an empty bed. 

“Jean?” Alisa asked quietly, her voice shaky.

“I know. But we have to wait until he’s back.”

“But ”

“We just have to hope she takes her time.” Chrollo had stopped moving, he just let his head drop as tears poured from his eyes. Jean came to his side and crouched down next to him. “I’m-”

“Don’t,” Chrollo mumbled, never lifting his head, “Don’t apologize. You did this. And out of all the other guides I thought you would understand. Clearly, I was mistaken, my apologies.”

“Chrollo, I understand, I-”

“I guess she’s not my Marco. That’s obviously an understatement. It must not have meant the same thing.”

“Don’t, don’t talk about him like I didn’t love him. Chrollo, you don’t get it now, but trust me, we’re doing this for you.”

“If you were truly so broken about what I did all those years ago, I understand, but taking it out on her is too far, Jean. I did what I could, and I regret it everyday. But why did you have to take her? She isn’t Marco. Neither of them deserved us.” Jean lowered his head, avoiding Chrollo’s eyes.

“I know. They deserved better than us.”

“Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“But I can’t lose her like you lost Marco. I know it’s selfish.” Jean smiled and raised his head.

“No, it’s not…” Jean stood. “Alisa, let him go.” Alisa smiled and took her hand off of Chrollo. He slumped down, eyes wide and confused.

“Forgive us, Chro, but it was the only way. Go. She’s at the third door. Hurry.” Alisa pulled him up, he was weak from the shock of her whip. She and Jean hoisted him off the bed and shoved him out the door, ripping his bandage off. “Go!”

“I’m still pissed!” He said as he ran out the door, disappearing into night. He reappeared back home, trying to get his bearings quickly. “Kohi, find her, now.” He barely finished speaking before Kohi was off. “Kiyo, follow.” Kiyo took Chrollo on her back and hurried after her brother. Back in the hospital room, Jean and Alisa met up with Akira.

“Akira. Alisa. You do realize you both made deals with Chrollo and Bella, yes?” Jean asked. The two looked at each other, then back at Jean. “Oh fuck me, really? You two made those deals without- Jesus Christ, guys.” Jean pinched the bridge of his nose. “Explain the deals in detail. Don’t leave anything out. Alisa, you first.” Alisa sighed and winced.

“I agreed to get her body back, all healed up, but he had to watch her die. He is not permitted to make contact in any way once she returns for his eternity as a guide. If at any time she asks to move on, he was to deny her request. She would forget everything about her time with him here. And he later added something else to the deal…” Alisa explained. Jean now realized the weight of the situation.

“Akira...you next, and please tell me there was a reason we had to bolt him down.” Jean said, his tone shaken with worry. Akira took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly.

“Bella asked that I make Chrollo into a...human. He must spend 1 year in the in-between before that can happen. Also, I had to be the one to take her to the door, not Chrollo. He was not to accompany me in any way, shape, or form. But once I had left, I saw no harm in him going to see her. After all he didn’t accompany me, hence the chains.” Akira explained. Jean sighed, relieved before once again realizing what had been done.

“Wait so does that mean-” Jean started.

“Yep,” Alisa squeaked out, “It’s bad.” 

. . .

Kohi and Kiyo stopped. Chrollo held his breath when he saw her. She stood at a giant red double door, her hands resting on the handle. He sprinted over to her. 

“Bella! Wait!” He called. She looked up from the handle and turned.

“Chrollo-” He came crashing into her, engulfing her in his arms. She didn’t move, her entire body was frozen in shock. “Chrollo…You can’t be here, you need to go-”

“Shut up.” He said before kissing her, long and passionately. He held her tighter than he ever had before. She held his face, studying it with her hands. Neither tried to stop it, they both just melted into the other’s hands. Bella was the one to pull away first.

“How are you here?” Chrollo loosened his hold on her, but didn’t let her go.

“Jean and Alisa.” She smiled.

“Good. I was waiting for you.” Chrollo’s smile faded and he released her a bit more.

“Why didn’t you want me here?” He asks, his voice cracking and low.

“I did, but I know you, Chro. Would you have really been able to let go?” He looked away.

“I- I don’t know.” She smiled and turned his head back toward her.

“Will you be able to now?” She asked. He frowned, deciding not to respond. “I know you don’t want to Chro, but it’s not your decision.” 

“I thought I would be able to do this when the time came but…”

“I know, Chro.”

“No, you don’t.” Tears began to escape from his eyes and he looked away, unwrapping his hands and placing them on either side of her waist.

“Then tell me.” She held his face and wiped away the tears as they fell.

“You’re gonna forget me…” He whispered. She laughed softly.

“I could never forget you.” He winced and opened his mouth to explain, but she cut him off, taking his hands off her waist. “I’ll see you soon, Chro. Remember our promise, okay? I’ll be waiting.” 

“Wait, I-” She leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“Goodbye, Chrollo.” She turned, heaving the doors open and walking through, never looking back. 

. . .

It took one full week before Bella returned. Oikawa and Iwa were the ones there when she woke up. She was in a bit of a haze, but once she got her bearings the boys practically jumped on her. They were crying and hugging and talking, just waiting for the others to get there. One by one the boys trickled into the room, running to her side and hugging the girl. The last one to get there was Levi. 

“What?” He snapped, “You blow up my phone, it better be-” He froze. “Son of a bitch...he really did it.” Levi walked over and hugged her. “Good to see you again, Bella.” Iwa shoved Levi playfully.

“Why aren’t you more excited? It’s been three months since we’ve seen her.” Levi frowned.

“What do you mean? We saw her last week…” Victor laughed.

“We mean talked to her, dummy!” Victor responded. Levi looked at them angrily.

“Are you guys fucking with me? Do you not remember the goodbyes we did?” Oikawa blinked.

“Levi, I’m gonna say this and I think I’m speaking for everyone here, but no one knows what the fuck you’re talking about.” Oikawa said, backing away. Levi thought for a moment before pulling Erwin out the door with him. He dragged him outside and asked him a barrage of questions. 

“Levi, hon, slow down.” Erwin said, laughing a bit. Levi sighed.

“Do you remember what happened at our wedding, when I held your hand?” Erwin thought for a moment then shook his head. 

“No. You were all shocked and held my hand, but I don’t really remember after that or why.” Levi sighed and rubbed his head.

“Do you remember someone named Chrollo?” Erwin shook his head, extremely confused. “Fuck. What did he do?”  
. . .  
1 Month Earlier

“You would like to add a condition to our deal? Odd, but okay.” Alisa said.

“I want the rest of them to forget me as well. Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Victor, Yuri, and Erwin. Don’t wipe Levi, I need him to remember. Is that acceptable?” Alisa frowned and nodded slowly.

“Yes, but why? Why do you want them to forget you too?”

“I don’t need them asking her about someone she used to know. If she doesn’t remember why should they?” Alisa smiled softly.

“I see. So why not Levi?”

“I need him to tell me how she is, to tell me she’s okay, that she’ll be okay without me.”

“Of course. So he’s a freak I take it?”

“Oh yeah, giant freak.” Chrollo smiled.

. . .

“Why don’t they remember you?” Levi asked angrily.

“They don’t need to. I didn’t need them to.” Chrollo answered plainly. He had spent the past week watching over them all: Iwa and Oikawa, Victor and Yuri, Erwin and Levi. Alisa would visit when she could, but none of it helped. She was gone.

“But-”

“How is she?” Levi sighed sadly.

“She seems...happy, but…”

“Good. She deserves that much.”

“She’s not as happy as she could be. I know that much. She doesn’t know it, but she was happier when she was dying than she ever was alive.” Chrollo looked away.  
“It’s been nice, Levi. I’ll be back in a few weeks.” 

“Wai-” But Chrollo had left. It continued on like this for a year. He would show up every two or three weeks, ask how Bella was, listen to Levi tell him how much happier she could’ve been, then leave abruptly. One day, Levi heard a knock on his door late at night.

“Levi...something weird is….is happening.” Chrollo sounded out of breath. He quickly unwrapped the bandage on his head, but there was nothing underneath.

“What the hell?” Levi mumbled, examining the man’s head. 

“I don’t know what’s happening. I can’t teleport and Kohi and Kiyo are gone and-”

“Slow down, we’ll figure it out just- Oh and you are?” Levi said, looking just beyond Chrollo’s shoulder. Chrollo turned but saw no one. 

“Who are you talking to Levi?”

“Akira? He’s right there behind you.” Chrollo looked again, but no one was there.

“Great and now I can’t see Akira.” Levi grabbed Chrollo’s hand and sure enough Akira was there. 

“Chrollo, I never told you, but Bella made a deal as well. After one year in the in-between, I told her I would make you...into a real live human being.” Akira explained. Chrollo’s hands started shaking as everything became clear to him. One year? So that’s why...oh god.

“Levi! Who’re you talking to, it’s freezing out there.” A girl spoke walking up behind Levi, a drink in her hand. Chrollo looked down, refusing to see who it was, though he already knew.

“This is Chrollo.” Levi said, a bit reluctantly. Chrollo looked up and saw her. She looked so different, so much...healthier.

“Hi, I’m Bella. It’s nice to meet you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So with the whole everyone else losing their memory thing, it can get confusing on how that works so i’ll explain.
> 
> basically they remember the three months, but anything that they experienced with chrollo/bella.
> 
> for example: the double date. iwa and oikawa would remember going on a date, but it would be with just the two of them. or take the card game for example. they remember playing cards, but with just the three of them instead of brollo as well.
> 
> i hope that explains it a bit.


	31. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End...for now 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6qLS3vrWKLDmU4BKvTOk9D?si=464f74f46b0f4ffd

“I’m sorry this is probably weird, but you seem familiar. Have we met before?” Chrollo bit his lip and nodded.

“Once, a long time ago. You don't remember me.” She frowned.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s been crazy recently. How did we meet?” Chrollo smiled.

“You were sick and I came to help for a little.” Bella smiled softly. 

“Hm. Do you want to come inside? I’m sorry if I’m being too forward. I just feel like I know you already.” Levi tapped on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. “Stop!” She laughed, and Levi whispered more. “Really?” She looked at Chrollo and smiled. “Okay then. Can we actually go somewhere else?” 

“Okay.” He smiled. She reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers in his as they walked. 

“So where do you wanna go? We can go wherever you want.” Chrollo smiled.

“Somewhere far.” He answered. She wrapped both arms around his arm and leaned her head into his shoulder.

“I’d like that.” She agreed. The two walked for miles, kept warm by the other’s touch. Bella found talking to him easy. It was as if they had known each other for a lifetime. And though she hadn’t met him before tonight, something in her brain kept thinking: You really did come back...


End file.
